The Healing Of Travis Stoll
by KiwiDaydreamer
Summary: Broken hearts, Athenian children, that beautiful daughter of Demeter and an unexpected form of healing. Travis Stoll finally grew up sixteen years later. How did it happen? Time frame is about twenty years after TLO, slightly AU. COMPLETED.
1. Part One, The Healing

The Healing of Travis Stoll

**A/N: **Here's a planned three-shot I wrote to try and cure writer's block. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I had a dream...I owned Percy Jackson and the Olympians...and then I woke up.

**Part One – The Healing**

"Daddy, tell me about mommy," Six year old Althea Anastasia Stoll piped up as her father walked into her room. It was her favorite time of the day, bedtime. The routine had always been the same ever since she was a little baby, and she loved it. She didn't get to see much of her dad during the day. He was there in the morning to drop her off to school before he headed off to work in the city. He was an electrical engineer, working for a company that Malcolm owned, a son of Athena that he had known since they were six. They hadn't been very close growing up, especially during their teenager years when Travis and his brother Connor did nothing but ridicule the boy, but as they grew older, Malcolm got to know Travis better, and Travis learnt not to insult Malcolm. Now, they were close friends.

He worked from eight thirty in the morning to six pm, leaving Althea to stay with her Uncle Connor until Travis came to pick her up. Connor, like Travis had a family of his own. He had settled down with a daughter of Hecate, Chelsea and they lived about twenty minutes away from where Travis had an apartment. Connor and Chelsea had a son named Lysander, who was a year younger than Althea and like a brother. They did almost everything together, just like Travis and Connor once did. Travis did his best to pick his daughter up from his brother's house before the clock hit six thirty. Once the pair had reached the small apartment that Travis had managed to buy, it was dinner time. Half the time, Travis just bought take-outs, as he was never a cook, but he always attempted to make at least one home cooked meal for himself and his daughter. Most of the time though, their dinner was due to Chelsea's wonderful homemade cooking that she insisted they take home with them. Like clockwork, Althea would always be ready to go to sleep at seven thirty, seven forty five at the latest. Travis Stoll couldn't help but smile at his daughter as he stepped into her room. Although he wasn't going to openly admit anything, he was rather proud of the room they had decorated together.

Last year, Althea had decided that her favorite colors were yellow and purple, and she had decided that she wanted her room those colors. At first, Travis had done his best to convince his daughter otherwise, thinking that she would change her mind within a few years. Yet, she was a stubborn little fighter, just like her mother was, sometimes even more. Travis finally gave in and that same year, they painted her room a pale yellow, before going to Spotlight and buying her some new furniture. A yellow beanbag, purple bed covers, a purple bedside lamp, a yellow fluffy rug, yellow curtains that matched her walls and they had even found a yellow and purple teddy bear that Althea had insisted she must have. They had spent quite a bit of Travis' personal savings, the money he had originally saved to buy a new car with, but he thought that his daughter's happiness was worth it. Just seeing the look on her face once the room was finished filled Travis' heart with joy.

Althea was now seated on the side of her bed, ready to go to sleep and certainly excited for this time of day. It was her favorite part, as it was the time she got to spend with her most favorite person of all, her daddy. Travis joined his daughter, standing next to her with a wry grin.

_She looks so much like her mother_, the voice at the back of his mind whispered. Travis shook his head, sending his own chocolate brown curls to fly around his head. Althea giggled, showing her pearly white baby teeth and a dimple on the left side of her cheek.

"It's getting late sweetie," he replied, glancing down at his watch. In reality, it was only about seven thirty, but there were many things that Travis needed to complete before he went to bed that night. The lunch and dinner dishes were still stacked up next to the sink in a dirty pile, and although he didn't want to clean them, he knew that he was going to end up washing them anyway because Althea hated the mere sight of any bug or insect. As well as the dishes, Travis needed to get the laundry started, make Althea's lunch for school tomorrow, phone his mother and get a bunch of paperwork for his job.

"But daddy!" Hearing his daughter complained pulled Travis out of his mental agenda. He glanced down at the young girl, taking in her tanned skin, emerald green eyes that shined with curiosity and intelligence and the yellow and purple onesie that she so adorably sported. He picked her up, wrapping his strong arms around her waist as she squealed. Travis let out a laugh as he pulled the purple duvet from under the pillows before placing his daughter into the warm bed. He plonked himself next to her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Not tonight Althea," Travis tried hard to put a stern tone in his voice, but it had never been his strong point. She put her pouting face on as he pulled her covers up to her chin. Travis hated that look, the lost puppy gaze that almost made him give in to anything. He knew that he didn't have time to tell her a story tonight, the amount of paperwork he had to complete was insane. The pile was growing daily and although Malcolm was rather lenient when it came to the son of Hermes handing his work in on time, but most of it was three weeks overdue and the line needed to be drawn there. All that work alone, Travis had estimated, would take about two to three hours of sitting at his desk, something that he was never good at. The ADHD he had been diagnosed with never seemed to fade, much to his distaste. Besides, talking about Althea's mother was something that Travis was always very reluctant to do so. He hadn't told her much about the daughter of Demeter that had captured his heart, before tearing it in half.

He didn't think he was going to tell her the whole story until she was about fourteen, at the least. The story just bought back too many memories, ones that Travis would never forget, no matter how badly he wanted to. As well as that, he didn't want to ruin the childlike innocence that Althea had, the innocence that Travis prayed to the Gods she would keep for a long time. She had created stories about her mommy, portraying her as if she was a goddess herself and whenever Travis heard them, he struggled to maintain his happy-go-lucky composure. When he had finally managed to snap out of his train of thought, he glanced down at his daughter, surprised that she was already fast asleep. Althea usually took about an hour to go to bed every night, but he had vaguely remembered her mentioning something about playing a tiring game at school.

"Goodnight baby girl," Travis whispered softly, as to not want to wake his precious beauty up. He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before getting up. He quietly turned on the night light before closing the main light and leaving the room, making sure that the door was left slightly ajar. As Travis made his way into the small area they called their kitchen, he thought more of his daughter. She was his life, the reason he had even bothered to make a living nowadays. He truly loved his daughter more than anything and anybody in the whole entire universe.

_What about Katie Gardner?_ the familiar voice spoke softly in the back of his mind.

Well, he thought. Almost anybody.

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><p>Travis had no idea how it happened, but time flew. Althea was no longer a cute little girl who liked making daisy chains with her curled locks pulled into pigtails, she had somehow transformed into a fifteen year old teenager. Her priorities had definitely changed, although that was to be expected. It was inevitable really, even though Travis was always shocked whenever he thought about it. Overalls and matching tracksuit sets of many different colors had been given away and replaced with skinny jeans, labeled jerseys and tank tops. Gumboots and odd knee high socks were thrown out and high cut Converse sneakers with white ankle socks appeared. Gone were the simple days of elementary school, when the hardest equation they gave you definitely did not include letters or triangles. The days of basic reading, writing and arithmetic were but a daydream, reluctantly substituted with AP English, Greek mythology essays, physics and the ever despised geometry.<p>

When Althea had turned eight years old, Travis finally decided to tell her about her grandfather, his dad, Hermes. He had debated with himself whether he wanted to tell her or not. Of course, once she found out, there was the glorious upside of recounting all the marvelous pranks that he and Connor had pulled, as well as the never-ending list of monsters that he liked to think he had killed, and there was always the long story about the second Titan War. Then again, Travis had countered inwardly, the knowledge that Althea would gain if he told her could possibly bring great harm to her, something that Travis had always tried to prevent. He, along with Connor and Chelsea, had a long and tiring discussion about the matter, as the younger Stoll and his wife were also uncertain if they should inform their now growing family of two children, with one on the way. Finally, all the Stolls had made up their mind and decided that it would be the best thing to tell both Althea and Lysander about everything, allowing the pair to go to Camp Half Blood for the first time in their lives.

When Travis had told Althea the truth that cold night of winter, just as she was about to go to bed, he thought that she was going to think that he was insane. Surprisingly for Travis, he got quite the shock that she merely accepted it, in fact, she had deemed like 'so awesome!' much to Travis' glee.

Eight year old Althea had been rather ecstatic to visit Camp for the first time, although she had not travelled much. Travis worked hard for both himself and his daughter, but there was never enough money for any extravagant holiday of any kind. Malcolm had so kindly offered the eldest Stoll a four week holiday during the upcoming summer to allow him to go to Camp along with Connor, Althea and Lysander. The two cousins were going to stay for a good part of the summer, while Travis would return after a month and Connor would go home after a few days, as Chelsea was ready to give birth. It was suffice to say that both Althea and Lysander had the best summer Camp Half Blood experience that went beyond their wildest dreams.

Since then, Lysander and Althea were annual summer campers, loving the environment at the camp, but their parents couldn't blame them. The pair were warmly welcomed by older campers that Travis and Connor had grown up with, many of them having families of their own and their children visiting camp also. Much to Travis' distaste, his daughter had befriended Jess Rodriguez, the younger daughter of Chris and Clarisse. Jess was a fun and feisty character, with stringy brown hair like her mother, but deep chocolate russet colored eyes that she could have only inherited from her father. Speaking of her father, she had also inherited Chris' Hermes identity, becoming one of the finest pranksters at camp, along with Althea and their cousin Lysander. The trio found happiness in pranking anyone and everyone, and both of the Stoll brothers were extremely pleased, to say the least.

Having Althea at camp every summer for six years was not only the major change from the small Stoll family. Once Travis could finally afford to, he tried to find a house closer to his brother, in a small suburb that was away from the city. He wanted a proper house, not a small dingy apartment. The Gods had blessed Travis, as he managed to find a comfortable home that he fell in love with the moment he saw it. It was about a three minute walk to reach Connor's place, something that all the Stolls liked. It was a two room flat, made of brick the color of damp dirt, a thought that immediately made Travis think of Katie. He tried not to dwell on the thought, wondering if Katie would like a house like this. The home had a roof the color of freshly mown grass, another thing that made Travis think of a certain daughter of Demeter. There were two French windows jutting out the front of the house, and the inside was newly carpeted, clean and spacious. The backyard was decent sized, making Althea love the area. She had always had a fascination with plants, a hobby that Travis knew she had inherited from her mother. The pair both loved the house, while Connor and his family were also pleased to have them living closer, so Travis sold the apartment and moved into the new house just before Althea's eleventh birthday.

* * *

><p>The elder Stoll brother turned up the radio, liking the bass drum beat that was pounding through the car stereo. He nodded his head to the beat of the song, humming quietly to himself. As time seemed to go on, routines began to change and Travis could do nothing but accept it. After twelve faithful years of working for Malcolm, the son of Athena had decided to give Travis a higher rank, and a raise. He was now one of the managers in the division that he worked in, also earning enough money to allow his daughter to do the things she enjoyed, which were mainly cooking and gardening. But if there was one thing that Travis could live without in the change that was his daughter growing up, it was her different attitude when it came to the male population.<p>

Since she was a young little girl up until she turned twelve, the boys that she ever bothered to even look at where her father, Uncle Connor and of course, her cousin Lysander. Apart from that, she barely blinked whenever a boy was around, unless she was sparring against them or telling them off for being the immature fools she thought most of the male populous were.

Until she met Thaddeus, or Thad for short. He was Malcolm's son, only about six months older than Althea. He was as smart as any relation to Athena should be, with blonde hair that fell just past his stormy grey eyes, an exact replica of what Malcolm used to be at his age. Thad and Althea had met at camp when they were twelve, and he managed to single handedly change her perspective of guys, and to be frank, Travis did not like it. He did not enjoy the fact that Althea was actually starting to have an attraction to the opposite gender and it really didn't help that he happened to be the son of his boss. He had thanked the Gods that the pair didn't go to the same school, but it didn't stop them from talking daily. By the time they had turned fifteen, they were practically dating, much to Althea's father's distaste.

All these thoughts were swirling through Travis' mind when his cell phone rang. He was surprised at the sudden sound and turned down the radio, pulling over as soon as he could. The demigod rarely got phone calls and when they did, they were always extremely important. He grabbed the Nokia that was lying in the passenger's seat and pressed the green call button, noting that the caller was his very own little brother.

"Hello?" Travis asked uncertainly, feeling like he was holding a bomb that was about to go off. You could never tell with Connor. Even after all these years, the elder Stoll could easily trust his brother with his life, but when it came to phone calls or wallets, that was a totally different story.

"Hey bro, you remember how you got a call from Chiron the other day?" Connor asked. It took Travis a second to figure out exactly what his younger brother was talking, his memory had never been a strong point. He vaguely remembered talking to his old camp counselor last week. The aging centaur had Iris Messaged the elder Stoll, asking him whether he was going to be busy for a part of the summer holidays. There had been a sudden overflow in new campers as if the Gods had suddenly remembered to claim their children and they all needed to be trained. Not just any type of training either, but Chiron wanted them to be well trained and prepared for anything. So, he had called all the campers that had survived the second Titan war. Percy and Annabeth were already all year camp counselors, living in a small house that Annabeth constructed on the camp grounds for her, Percy and their seven year old son who they named Michael Lee, after Michael Yew and Lee Fletcher, two sons of Apollo that had passed away during the war. Chris and Clarisse were also coming as Clarisse was always excited to strike fear into newbies' hearts. Other friends of Travis and Connor were also coming along, such as Will Solace, Nico Di Angelo and Jake Mason. The elder Stoll was pretty keen to come along, as long as it was okay with his boss. He had talked to Malcolm the day after and he granted Travis four weeks of leave and Malcolm was also going to visit Camp Half Blood when he got the chance to.

"Yeah, why's that?" Travis replied, wondering what his brother was trying to get at. He had also talked to his younger brother about the ordeal, wanting to know if Connor was going as well. As much as he wanted to go to camp and see the new campers squirm and pee their pants at the mere sight of Clarisse Rodriguez, but alas, he couldn't. Chelsea was due to give birth during mid-August and he knew that he was going to have to be there for his wife so she could break his hand (again). However, he was going to be dropping off Lysander and staying for two days before returning home.

"Well, Annabeth was talking to Chelsea and…" Connor trailed off, wondering why in Hades he had gotten stuck with telling Travis the news. He had argued with Chelsea that Annabeth or Percy should be the ones to tell him, seeing as they were the original people that Chiron had assigned to tell his brother. Yet, even the great Percy Jackson was too scared to feel the wrath unleashed when Travis got mad, which wasn't often, and did Connor thank the Gods for that. Since Connor was the younger brother, Annabeth had decided to tell his wife the news and order him to tell his brother.

"What?" Travis asked, trying his best not to snap. He hated suspense, unless he was waiting to see how someone would react when they got pranked. Other than that, his temper was extremely short and his attention span shorter than that. Connor also had this awful habit of pushing all his brother's buttons, a skill that Travis realized all younger brothers have.

"Uh. Er," Connor mumbled.

"Spit it out bro," Travis growled, rolling his eyes. He was secretly speculating whether or not Connor was being an idiot on purpose or if it just came naturally. Travis just wanted to get back on the road and go home to see his little girl. It was a Friday night, so it meant that they were going out for dinner and would go to the video store and grab a few movies.

"Katie's coming to camp," Connor's words came out quickly, like one massive word rolled into one. No words could explain how Travis felt as soon as he deciphered what his brother had said. He let in a sharp intake of breath and tried to stop the feeling of his heart shattering into pieces all over again. After sixteen years, Travis thought that he was over her, he really did. He wasn't wistfully thinking about her as much as he did when Althea was still a baby. His thoughts weren't always focused on what Katie might have been doing at a certain point in time. Sure, he hadn't tried to get with anybody else, but he was doing his best to get over her. So why did the mere mention of her name cause Travis to feel lightheaded?

Connor, who was still on the other side of the phone, was quite worried. There were not many things that caused his elder brother to become speechless, much less anything that included the female persuasion. But, Connor countered inwardly, Katie was just something else entirely. You had to be blind or deaf to not notice the way Katie had changed Travis. Okay, so he was still the funny prankster, who had the ego the size of the universe, but little things had changed. He was always on time for occasions; he stopped eating like a barbarian and he even started to wear clothes that were actually clean. After Katie had left Travis so suddenly, he was more than heartbroken. Connor could remember wondering how much pain Travis really felt as his elder brother tried to hide his hurt and pretend like he was fine being an eighteen year old single father with no house or job. "Trav?" Connor asked cautiously, unsure of how his brother would react. Since Katie had left, they had never once talked about her. Connor asked about it once, but Travis got so mad that he punched a hole in the wall, so his younger brother knew that he should never ask again. Travis made a non-committal noise that sounded like a grunt.

"Uh, thanks for letting me know bro," Travis replied once he found his voice. He couldn't really think of much to say, heck, he could barely think to begin with. Connor could immediately tell that his brother was not okay. It wasn't just the dull tone in his voice or the way the last word had been spoken a tad higher, but it was more the reason that Travis had actually thanked him for anything. Before he could say anything, the dial tone sounded through his phone, indicating that his older brother had already hung up on him. The younger Stoll swore softly, praying to the Gods that his brother was going to be okay.

* * *

><p>How he even managed to get home was beyond Travis Stoll's comprehension, although to be perfectly honest, he didn't quite care. He was feeling lucky that he had the power to drive to his house. He turned off the engine, but sat in the driver's seat for a moment, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.<p>

_C'mon Stoll, harden up_, the voice in head told him firmly. Travis clenched his jaw tight, doing his best to maintain his composure. Suddenly, he found himself questioning exactly what he was doing. If someone had told him sixteen years ago that he would be single father to a beautifully talented young girl, living in a small suburb and actually depending on himself to make a living for himself, he would've laughed at them and politely asked if they belonged to a mental asylum. Travis had always thought that by the time he was thirty four, he would be living in a huge house near one of the coasts, happily settled down and married to Katie Gardner and being so rich that he would never have to work a day in his life. Yet, here he was, being the person that he never thought he'd be.

If Travis was being totally straightforward, he would have never thought that he'd make a decent father. It wasn't exactly like he had the best role model in the world. Even though Hermes was always looking out for his many demigod children, everyone had known that Luke Castilian was his favorite and look how good that turned out. Travis loved his mom to bits, but she wasn't exactly the role model parent figure either. Sure, she was the one that sent them to camp when Connor had turned seven so they could learn to protect themselves, but that was probably the only good thing she'd done. He always tried to wrack his mind of information about his mother, but there wasn't much there. Travis might've seen his mom maybe twice after he and his brother began all round campers. Not like that bothered him, Travis loved being at camp, in an environment where people actually wanted him around. Sometimes.

He wondered what his mother would have thought of her elder son if she knew that he impregnated his girlfriend at eighteen and actually wasn't the one to leave the relationship. Would she be proud that he stuck around to look after the baby? Or would she be disappointed that he and Katie had been so careless in the first place? Travis' thoughts drifted to Althea. He didn't know whether he wanted to tell her that her mother was going to be at camp this upcoming summer. He knew for a fact that Althea would be demanding all the information about her that Travis had been withholding for so many years. He wasn't sure that he would actually be able to tell her anything, in fear that he would break down.

Travis had promised himself many things, but he wasn't always the best at keeping them. He had promised himself that he would get over that daughter of Demeter, but that hadn't turned out so well, Travis thought with a wry smile. Yet, there was one promise he had managed to maintain. He had promised himself to never show himself vulnerable to his daughter. Travis loved her with all his heart and so much more, and had always wanted to be the best father figure possible for her. Of course, that wasn't possible and he always managed to screw up somehow (He's Travis Stoll, remember), but he had done everything he could to ensure her that he loved her and would do anything and then some to protect her. He wasn't going to be able to do that if he would tell her about Katie, but she did deserve to know. After a five minute internal battle between his conscience and his heart, he opened up the car door and stepped out. Here goes nothing, he thought reluctantly as he made his way to the front door of his house.

He wasn't surprised when he was greeted by the sound of silence. Althea, although much like her father in the sense she liked to have a good time, was a lot quieter than Travis had ever been growing up. He guessed that she was in her room, so made his way over to the other house after he disregarded his jacket, tossing it on a nearby piece of furniture. As he neared his daughter's room, he could hear her voice clearly and couldn't help but smile at the beautiful sound. Travis paused near her door, taking in the posters and photos she had taped on the wooden door. There was a poster of some band that Travis had never heard of, but apparently they were his daughter's favorite. Surrounding the poster, were photos taped in askew angles. Most of them were of Althea and Lysander from when they were younger, but there were also a few with his daughter and Jess Rodriguez, and much to Travis' disapproval, was a picture of Althea and Thad, taken near the camp campfire. Malcolm's son had his arm around his daughter and they were both sitting far too close to each other for Travis' liking. He was about to knock on the door when he heard a second voice in the room. It wasn't the sound of music either, but a sound of a male's voice. As he listened in, he realized that it wasn't just any guy's voice, but Thaddeus'. Travis exhaled loudly, clenching his fist tightly.

"Althea," he growled in his warning tone, not bothering to wait for her response as he pushed the door open. As the door hit the wall with a resounding thump, he saw his daughter mutter something quickly, before pressing a button on her laptop and shutting it quickly.

"Uh, hey dad, I didn't know you were home," she replied with uncertainly, not quite knowing how he was going to react. She had been Skyping Thad weekly now, since they didn't get to see each that much, even though they lived in the same area. Seeing as he was Malcolm's son, he had inherited the bright mind and was accepted into a private school a few states away. They only really got to see each other during camp. Althea had wanted to tell her dad, but he knew that he wasn't too fond of the blonde haired boy.

"I bet you didn't," he replied, standing over her with his arms folded across his chest. He raised his eyebrow, but didn't bother to press the matter any further.

"Oh. Uncle Connor called this afternoon, said he wanted to talk to you about something," Althea said, doing her best to change the subject. Travis' face turned sour almost immediately; as if he had just swallowed a lemon whole and Althea raised her eyebrows. She knew that her dad and Uncle Connor had this weird sibling love-hate relationship, but he was always pretty excited to hear from his brother. Her dad had been busy with some stuff at work for the past week or so, as he was trying to get it all done before his leave, meaning he hadn't had much time to talk to anybody. As she was just about to open her mouth to ask if everything was okay, Travis started to talk.

"Althea, I need to talk to you," there was no denying the urgency and the seriousness in her dad's voice and that got the young girl quite worried. She never got used to hearing her father use that tone of voice, mainly for the fact that he hardly used it. She could only remember one time he had ever used that tone, and that was when Travis was just going to tell her about Camp and who her grandfather is. She couldn't think of anything to say, so merely patted the empty bed space next to her. Without a word, Travis sat down and took a deep breath. He obviously wasn't prepared to tell her what was going on, but she finally deserved to know. "Your mother's coming to camp."

A stunned silence filled the air. There was no word that could come to Althea's mind of how she was feeling. Shock couldn't even begin to cover the mix of emotions she was feeling. The dark haired girl felt the rush of oxygen leave her body and she remained speechless, unable to voice her conflicting feelings. She glanced up at her father and noticed something she had never seen before. It was pain. Sure, Althea had seen her dad curse his head off when he jammed his finger in the car door, and had definitely seen the pain caused by his favorite basketball team losing a game, but she had never seen pain like this. It was a deep raw pain etched into his dark eyes.

"Oh," Was all Althea managed to say when she had finally found her voice. There was a deep aching within her to ask about her mother, to know the details and to know what her mother was like, to know what she inherited from her. She wanted the most important question to be answered, why. Why did her mom leave? Even though her entire being was begging to ask why, she kept her mouth shut. Her dad was in obvious pain and it wasn't fair of her to talk those questions that he never dared to answer while she was growing up. Through the moment of silence, Travis looked up from the plain colored carpet to glance at his daughter. He was expecting her to start interrogating him about Katie and it was suffice to say that he was rather surprised when she didn't.

"You aren't going to ask me about her?" Travis asked his daughter, cocking his right eyebrow and staring at her with a slightly confused expression.

"I want to," Althea admitted with a rather shy expression engraved in her face. "But I won't," she added quickly, a bit too quickly. The eldest Stoll winced as he came to realization of what his daughter was doing.

"C'mon Al, you've waited long enough," he scooted closer to his daughter with the enthused sly smile that Katie had fallen for. "Let me tell you a story…"

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><p>Reviews are appreciated and if you want, please check out my other stories. Thanks (:<p> 


	2. Part Two, The Story

**A/N: **I apologize for the long wait. I have been pretty busy at the moment, my final exams only two weeks away. But alas, I have found time to write the story. I've changed my mind and the 'story' part of this is going to be chopped in half. So now it's a four-shot. Hope you enjoy :)

**Disclaimer:** I own a laptop, I own a pen, I own a stuffed zebra named Horatio but... I don't own any of these characters.

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><p><strong>Part Two – The Story<strong>

Travis Stoll felt like the luckiest guy in the world. He wondered what he had done to please the Gods, but he was extremely happy with the way that life was turning out for him. At age eighteen, with the help of Chiron, he and Connor had found a small apartment to flat in that was close to Camp, but far enough so that they could finally start building their lives. Chiron had allowed them to come to camp as paid workers until they both found jobs or started college, whichever came first. Travis decided to just go and find a job, learning and studying had never been an option for him.

He finally felt like his life was coming together. He had a house, a means of pay, and of course, his beautiful girl. It was rather suffice to say that she was the love of his life. When she wasn't studying or at college and when he wasn't helping Chiron out with new campers, they spent every moment together. They had been together for two years and it was probably the two best years of Travis' life. Sometimes, it felt surreal. He would have never thought that he would be the one to fall in love with Katie Gardner, of all people.

Growing up, it was rather obvious that the pair hated each other. They couldn't be within a hundred meter radius of each other without being at each other's throats. Whenever they were near each other, the whole camp knew that they were because screaming and insults would be heard throughout the vicinity. Yet, when they got together just after the second Titan war, half the camp was expecting it.

When Katie Gardner knocked on the front door of the Stolls' apartment, Travis was in a good mood. He'd been having a good day, at Camp most of the day, conning all the newbies and helping his younger siblings pull pranks on the Ares and Hephaestus cabins. So all in all, it had been a wonderful day.

"Hey there Katie," he greeted with her his wide smile that she had loved ever since from the beginning. Katie, on the opposite end, had not been having a good day in the slightest. College was becoming rather stressful and tortuous, and she had some very shocking news to tell her favorite son of Hermes. Once Travis saw the distressed look on his girlfriend's face, his grin suddenly fell. "Are you okay?" He asked as he pushed the door open further to let her in. She walked into the small apartment and sat on the old tattered couch that Connor had found in some op shop that smelt like cheap soap.

"I-I need to tell you something," There was no doubting the lack of confidence that was etched in Katie's voice. It immediately worried Travis. Katie Gardner was usually a very confident person, often to the point of annoyance on Travis' part.

"What's wrong?" he asked, putting an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. The eldest Stoll was many things, but one thing he definitely did not excel in was comfort. His humor was odd and sadistic at some points and raw emotions such as sadness was something that he could never deal with very well. Katie glanced down at the stained carpet, studying it as if it was the most interesting thing she'd seen all day. It wouldn't be surprising if it was. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to go about telling her eighteen year old boyfriend news that was this important. It was life-changing. It was terrifying.

"I'm pregnant Trav," the hushed words came out of her words faster than she expected to. She was too scared to look up and see what the male demigod's expression was, but she felt his arm tense up around her shoulders. The moment of silence seemed to last forever as they both tried to gather their thoughts. Travis, to say the least was dumbfounded. She had to be joking, right? Some not-so funny prank that she was pulling to try and get revenge for all the pranks he had fired upon her in the previous years. _But this was something no-one should ever joke about_, the small voice in his head had told him. He tried to push the thought away, but he knew that it was true. Katie looked far too vulnerable for it to be just a prank.

"But how?" Travis managed to blurt out a few minutes later once his voice found him. He inwardly cringed. It wasn't the exact response he was intending to say, neither was it the response that Katie was waiting for. She pushed away from her boyfriend's touch, agitated at his seemingly idiotic response. She glowered at Travis, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well Travis, when a boy and girl really-" She started sarcastically, but was cut off by Travis clearing his throat and staring daggers at her. This was not going as well as she'd hoped, the young demigod thought sullenly.

"I know that," the son of Hermes muttered indignantly, a million thoughts still rushing through his head like New York traffic on a Friday afternoon. There was no way that Travis could be a father. He was eighteen years old for Zeus' sake! The same Stoll could barely look after a pet rock, let alone a child that was his! "What are we going to do?" he asked, his voice quiet for uncharacteristically quiet.

Katie kept for the moment being. She had thought about this situation many times, with a few different outcomes racing through her head. Sure, she had envisioned herself having Travis' kids, but not at eighteen when they weren't married and Travis barely had a job. Hades, they weren't even legal to buy alcohol, let alone cater for a child's needs as well as their own.

Part of Katie really did want to keep the baby. She had spent more than a few nights dreaming about what her future child was going to be like. Travis' curly and unruly locks, her dark green eyes. Travis' whacked out humor, her love of gardening. Travis' uncanny ability to worm his way out of anything and her determination.

The more logical side of Katie Gardner was screaming "NO!" She knew that she was never going to have the heart to abort the baby. That was just out of the question. She had thought about giving it up for adoption, thinking that giving it away was going to be the best decision.

"Trav, I'm going to give it away," her voice was merely a whisper. She hated sounding so desperate and vulnerable, but it was really the only option. Every cell in her heart was begging for her to take that sentence back, but her head telling her that it was the only option.

"No," Travis was surprised about how fast the words came out of his mouth. To be perfectly honest, it was the last thing he was expecting to come out of his mouth. Apparently, Katie had the same thought as all she could do was stare at her boyfriend in pure shock.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Katie couldn't help but blurt out. For Hades' sake, this was not the way her life was supposed to go! She had a plan. She was going to marry Travis, they were going to travel together, before settling down and having kids. She was not prepared to have a kid at eighteen! And she was sure as anything that Travis was anything but prepared either. The eldest Stoll took a deep breath before replying to his long time girlfriend.

"Katie, I'm not going to let you give it away," his tone was quiet, so unlike Travis Stoll that it sent chills down Katie's spine. No, no, no, she was screaming in her head. He was supposed to be hugging her and telling her that it was going to be okay and that they were going to do what she wanted and then carry on as if nothing happened. He was not supposed to fight back and sit there, just glancing at the ground with his fists bunched together at his sides.

"This is my baby Trav-" she began, but the son of Hermes put a hand up to stop her from saying anymore. It was ripping his insides in half at the thought of breaking her heart, but there was no way in the world that Travis was going to let this kid go without its parents. While Katie's dad actually loved her and was the one who looked after her growing up, and still wanted to see her even after she went to Camp Half Blood, Travis' relationship with his father was never ever like that. He knew from first-hand experience what it was like to not have a father around and he knew how incredibly hard it was. There was no way that he was going to put his future kid through that.

"It's **our **baby Katie. So we both have to agree and I'm not letting that baby go," he said, his voice strong and firm, sounding far more confident than he felt. Before Katie could say another word, Travis stood up abruptly. "I'm going to see Connor, I need to talk to him. Feel free to stay or go, but I swear on my life, if you don't want to keep this baby, I will do it on my own."

* * *

><p>Connor Stoll couldn't help but spit out the juice he was drinking when he heard what his brother was telling him. The younger Stoll had just been out with Grover and Percy when he received his older brother's text message demanding him to meet Travis in a little café a few blocks away from their apartment. Even though the younger son of Hermes couldn't see his brother at the present moment, he'd had an inkling that something very important was wrong. Once they got a bit older, Chiron and Mr. D grudgingly allowed them to have cell-phones to use only during an emergency. So far, the only time Connor had ever had his brother text him was when he told him they had to go to hospital because their mom had been in a car accident. So Connor knew that something wasn't right. He excused himself from his friends and made his way down to where his brother wanted him to be.<p>

"Yo, what's wrong?" Connor greeted rather casually, sliding into the booth where his brother sat. He tried to put a smile on his face, but Connor sensed that there was something wrong. Very wrong. Usually Travis had his impish grin plastered on his face, Hades, he'd even managed to have some kind of smile on his face when he confronted his younger brother about his mom, but right now, all traces of any emotion was not apparent on Travis' face. That fact alone scared Connor more than it should have.

The brothers sat in the booth in silence, Connor only speaking to order a glass of orange juice while he waited for his brother to speak. Part of him was aching to smack his oldest brother in the arm and demand what was wrong, but he knew that it was going to be no use. He just had to wait. You could imagine the surprise on Connor's face when Travis finally spoke up and said,

"Katie's pregnant." It was two words, two words that were pretty useless separately, if you asked Connor, but together, they were one life changing statement. Before Connor could even begin to try and speak a coherent sentence, Travis kept going, mumbling about what he said about keeping the baby.

"You said what?" The younger Stoll couldn't keep the surprise and shock out of his voice. He knew his brother better than any other person in the universe (with the exception of the Gods) and he knew that for a fact, Travis Stoll was not friendly with kids. Hades, he had bluntly declared he wanted to make camp newbies suffer, even at the age of about seven. To be perfectly honest, Connor couldn't see his own brother as a father. It just didn't fit.

Travis on the other hand, was not pleased by his brother's reaction. Of course, you really couldn't expect anything else. He is a Stoll after all, but Travis was certainly expecting a bit more than a three word outburst of surprise. He was expecting…hell, he didn't know, just not that.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence bro," the elder Stoll muttered sarcastically as he glared at his younger brother, still trying to sort out all his thoughts in his mind. It was not looking pretty, to say the least. For the first time in his life, Travis was completely torn in two. Half of him wanted to keep the baby and look after it and nurture it and be the loving father he never had, but the other half of him was on the total opposite scale. He wanted to do what Katie wanted and make her happy. It was rather obvious that Katie was probably the most important girl in Travis' life and he would do anything for her in a heartbeat. Well, almost anything.

"Do you think you have what it takes to be a dad? Trav, it doesn't take a genius to know it's a whole lotta responsibility," Connor said slowly, completely dismissing his older brother's previous statement. He was still completely taken back by the whole situation, not to mention slightly perturbed and disturbed. Travis didn't have the greatest track record of being responsible, to say the least. And this was a child they were talking about! It wasn't something that Travis could just drop whenever he felt like and gave up on. They both knew that taking care of a baby was so much more than just responsibility. It took care, patience, persistence, love and so much more, nothing that Travis had been incredibly successful in doing this.

"I don't know Connor, I really don't," Travis finally admitted what they both knew since the conversation started. The son of Hermes buried his head in his hands, groaning loudly. About an hour ago, life was definitely not this complicated. Travis Stoll did not do complicated. He was an easy going guy who breezed through life. Apparently, it was all going to change. Seeing his brother look completely helpless was something new to Connor and to be quite frank, it was rather nerve wracking. The younger Stoll made a snap decision then and there, trying not to think too much about the consequences or else he'd never get it out.

"Well whatever you choose Travis, I'm going to be your right hand man."

* * *

><p>The next eight months for Travis Stoll were not particularly pleasant. He could go as far to say that it was probably the worse nine months of his life, and that was saying something considering he'd had some pretty rough times. Katie was even moodier than usual, making Travis' life a living hell. Whether it was on purpose or just because she was pregnant was beyond the poor Stoll boy and he didn't dare to ask which one it was. The boy was dim witted, but not <strong>that<strong> stupid.

It seemed to the soon-to-be father that every time he would try and do something useful for his girlfriend, it would all just crumble. He tried his best to please her, but she changed her mind every five minutes and it was rather hard for the boy to keep up with all her demands.

Since the night Travis and Katie fought about what was going to happen about their baby, fighting was all they ever did. They fought over what Katie's latest craving was, which television program to watch, what song to listen to, everything. Travis just couldn't win anymore. They tried to avoid talking about the future of the baby, but the pair both knew that they were just denying the inevitable.

"Katie," Travis began softly, glancing at his overly pregnant girlfriend as he walked into his apartment. She had recently been staying there for the past few nights as the due date of the baby loomed closer. Connor had made several excuses to not be at home before smartly deciding to stay in the Big House until the baby was born. He figured he had already done his part, helping his brother when he could and he was going to help him look after the baby. Once it was already out, he resolved.

"What Travis?" She snapped back irritably. Travis sighed, getting used to that tone. Katie Gardner didn't like being snappy, but it was just the way she was now. Gone were the days of the gorgeous carefree soul who barely worried about a thing. She was replaced with an incredibly grumpy, distressed girl that was far too young to be carrying a child.

"What are we going to do with it?" he asked, his voice was merely a whisper. He'd been wanting to talk about this for a while, but the time was never right. Hell, he thought. It was never the 'right' time to be talking about something as serious as this, but they needed to come to a decision before the baby came.

"I told you Travis. Once this baby is out, I am giving it away," she said, doing her best to sound firm. She had been having these internal battles about what to do for a long time. She really did want to keep the baby, but it was illogical and it just wasn't going to work. Once she gave the baby away, she was going to go back to college and finish her degree before going on her five year botanist exchange. There was this amazing program she had been accepted into for the year ahead that included her visiting various countries around the world and studying botany in all those different environments. It was a dream come true. And she was determined to go through with the exchange at all costs. Part of her felt selfish, but she knew that once she was finished with this exchange, she was going to settle down. She had already talked it out with Travis of course. And the boy was more than willing to wait. Until the baby happened.

"No Katie, that's not an option," Travis replied, sounding just as firm. The tone surprised both of them, as it was something that Travis barely used. Katie had finally made up her mind after the months of internal struggles.

"It's the only option Travis," she said, her voice slightly shaky. Travis shook his head, glancing at the ground to avoid his girlfriend's eyes. He really did not want to go through this, but there was no choice.

"Katie, this baby needs parents. That know what's going to happen to him or her. It's going to be a child of demigods for Gods' sake Katie! The baby needs us," the Stoll exclaimed, looking utterly frustrated.

"No, it doesn't Travis! It needs people who can support and provide for it!" Katie yelled at her boyfriend, hot tears of anger starting to trail down her pale cheeks.

"It needs us Katie. I don't care what you say, but I am keeping the baby," Travis was astonished by the words that were sprouting out of his mouth. He could hardly believe that they were coming from him and if it wasn't for the look on Katie's face, he wouldn't believe that it was him.

"I-if you keep i-it, we're over!" The last words that came out of the daughter of Demeter shocked her. She never thought she was ever going to utter those words to Travis Stoll. The son of Hermes frozen as soon as the words came out of Katie's mouth, all feelings of annoyance and irritation leaving his mind. All he could hear was those six words being repeated in his mind like a broken record.

"What?" the word escaped Travis' dry mouth a few seconds later, although it seemed like it was two years later.

"Y-you heard me," Katie tried her best to sound as confident as she could, swallowing the rising lump in her throat and resisting the urge to break down in tears. Every single fiber of her being was screaming at her to apologize and just jump into Travis' arms, but she just couldn't. Her fatal flaw was pride. She never once admitted in her life that she was wrong, and even though she loved Travis more than she could ever imagine she could, she just could not admit she was in the wrong.

"C'mon Katie," Travis began, but the daughter of Demeter was not having it. Her hormones were raging and she just couldn't stop herself.

"No Travis! I can't keep this baby! Not now! I'm only eighteen, I have my whole life ahead of me. I want to finish college and go on my exchange. Move into a pretty house in the countryside and get a real job. I can't look after a baby," she tried her best to explain what she was feeling.

Travis, on the other hand, was taking her explanation the completely wrong way. Instead of feeling hurt by her previous statement, he was getting angered, feeling his blood beginning to boil.

Travis, on the other hand, was taking her explanation the completely wrong way. Instead of feeling hurt by her previous statement, he was getting angered, feeling his blood beginning to boil.

"Don't you think that's really selfish?" he exclaimed, not thinking much about what he was saying. He was afterall, a son of Hermes. They didn't tend to think much about what they were saying.

"Me? Selfish?" Katie was just about to explode. "It's you who's being selfish! We can't play hero all the time! Travis, you don't even have a proper job, how in Hades to expect to look after a baby?" she retorted snidely, crossing her arms over her chest. He tried to hide it, but he was deeply hurt by her comments. He had never told anyone, not even his own brother or girlfriend, but he hated the fact he couldn't find a job. Sure, he'd pretend to play it cool and act like it was okay that he was a stupid guy, but in reality, he hated it. It was the smart kids like the campers from Athena that made it big in the world. The Hermes guys like him had to find money through stealing or other illegal activity and that was no way Travis wanted to raise a family. Especially now. He swallowed the rising lump in his throat.

"I have nothing more to say Katie. I am keeping this baby and there is nothing you can do about it."

* * *

><p>Please review and let me know what you think!<p> 


	3. Part Three, The Baby

**A/N:** I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words. I absolutely love writing this story and have found myself writing it faster due to all the wonderful reviews and favourites/alerts its received. Thank you so much!

Also, as a little side note - In case you haven't noticed, it's rather Travis-centric. I have tried to put bits and pieces of Katie's feelings in here, but I'm better at focusing on one character. So sorry about that. And Katie isn't supposed to sound like a horrid person, and it kind of seems that way, and I apologize for that. But it's sort of the way it supposed to sound in regards to this story.

Aaaand. I just want to dedicate this whole story to one of my best friends, my big brother Gerardo. I have no idea where I would be without you, and all who read any of my stories should be thanking him too, as he is the one who I bounce my ideas off and he improves all of them. Bro, you give me inspiration and I love you :3

**Disclaimer**: The day I own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, along with any associated characters is the day I announce my hatred for the All Blacks and my love for Justin Bieber. So never.

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><p><strong>Part Three – The Baby<strong>

After their major fight or the 'debate' as Travis internally referred to it as, Katie and he had stopped talking to each other. They were over now after all, just like she said they would be if he wanted to keep the baby. Now, Connor was the poor soul being the messenger for the used-to-be couple. Through Connor, they had discussed what they were going to do. Katie had decided she wanted nothing to do with a certain Travis Stoll to the extent that they didn't see each other nor communicate until the baby came. After she and the baby were out of hospital, they'd sign papers and Travis was a father. Although he was sorely tempted to go and see her, he knew it wasn't a wise decision. Instead, he had focused all his efforts on finding the appropriate gear for the new baby and of course, the all important means of pay.

Initiative was something that Travis hardly ever used. In fact, this was the rare times he was doing something voluntarily for somebody else. In a sense, he had become a changed man. In a rather uncharacteristic re-evaluation of himself, Travis had realized that he was no longer the care-free teenager he once was. Sure, he still enjoyed horror movies, loved to prank and probably going to be a pain in the rear for the rest of his life, but he was different. Somehow in the past few months, Travis had grown a conscience and a heart. He now not only thought of himself, but the baby that was about to come. Every decision he made he actually started thinking about the consequences.

Whether that was a good thing, however, was what Travis was still yet to decide.

He had talked to Chiron about his current situation, although leaving out details. Even though he was heartbroken and angry at Katie, he didn't want to bad mouth her in any way. It was another thing that had changed; he had started to become slightly sympathetic. He was not the only person to notice the differences about himself. Connor and Chiron had privately discussed what had happened to the eldest Stoll, wondering whether the change was going to last. Chiron offered to give him his pay check a few months in advance and Travis was extremely grateful. That meant it was a bit less pressure to find a job as soon as he could. Sure, he was looking everywhere he could, but there were not many places that accepted teenagers with no high school diplomas.

Connor Stoll had also played a massive part. He absolutely hated kids. He hated that they cried all the time, and they pooped in little bags that they were supposed to clean up. Connor couldn't stand that they all dribbled and couldn't tell him exactly what was wrong so he had to play the guessing game, which he was usually wrong. He hated how everyone, especially girls would coo at how cute babies were, when Connor couldn't see what was so cute about little things with not enough hair. But he loved his brother more, so he told his brother that he would let Travis and the baby stay at the apartment. The younger Stoll had a feeling, however, that he may just regret it.

Travis had even started reading, which was a surprise to every single person that had ever known him. He had never finished a book in his entire life, but he was determined to read every single parenting guide that the local library had to offer. He had even gotten himself his own library card. He picked a few of the parenting books that looked attractive to his eye and began to sift through them as quickly as he could. The eldest Stoll was going to need every bit of help he could get.

* * *

><p>Being a son of Hermes and just a Stoll and male in general, Travis' room always looked like a complete pigsty. It took Travis four afternoons to clean his room and throw all the junk out. He sold a whole bunch of his old clothes and games to the younger campers, delightfully taking the money and putting it towards his baby fund. When Connor walked into his older brother's room once he had finished cleaning it, he was amazed. You could actually see the carpet, which was now clutter free. Travis got rid of old clothes he stopped wearing, games and other bits of useless things he had stored up in the past. All there was in the room was a single bed, two drawers, a bedside table and there was a corner cleared for the baby.<p>

His half-brother Chris gave Travis a few necessities that a baby would find useful, such as a cot, baby formula and bottles and nappies. Travis had never been so grateful. Chris and Clarisse had their first child a few years ago and just had the old equipment lying around in the garage and were glad to put it to some use. Chris and Travis were out at the Rodriguez household, clearing out part of the garage so Travis could grab the cot.

"Trav, I've gotta question," Chris started as he sorted through the pile of useless trash that he and Clarisse never bothered to get rid of.

"Yeah?" the eldest Stoll replied nonchalantly. Since the debate, he had mostly kept to himself. The only thing on Travis' mind now was keeping that baby and doing his very best to provide for it. One thing that hadn't changed about him was that he was one-track minded. If he wanted something, he was going to do everything in his power and then some, to make sure it happened.

"Why are you doing this?" Chris asked. It was the question that everyone wanted to know the answer to, but all had been afraid to ask. Chris was Clarisse's husband after all, so he figured if he could handle his wife when she was moody, pms-ing and pregnant, he could handle his half-brother's temper.

Travis said nothing for a second, sitting up in surprise. He had thought about this many times, rendering him sleepless most nights for the past nine or so months. Travis himself didn't even know why he was doing this. There were some nights when he had seriously wanted to reconsider what he was doing. For goodness sakes', this was a child he was thinking about keeping. No, that he was _planning _on keeping. It was no easy decision and he knew for a fact that being a father was going to take so much more than just responsibility and money. It was going to take patience, kindness, gentleness, care and most importantly, it was going to need love. All of these were aspects were things Travis had never been particularly good at. So why was he trying now? He couldn't help but ask himself.

_Because it's your child Travis,_ the little voice in his head told him. He sighed, running a hand through his unruly locks. Sometimes that stupid voice really didn't help.

"Well…" Travis started, glancing at his elder half-brother. To be perfectly honest, the eldest Stoll could not put his feelings into words. He was never good at that in the first place, but trying to word this seemed impossible.

"No words to explain it?" Chris guessed, chuckling slightly. His younger half-brother couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least someone kind of understood him, he thought. It was a great comfort, especially when he couldn't understand what he was doing himself.

* * *

><p>Even with all these things sorted out, Travis still didn't have a job. Even though he loved camp, he needed a secure job that would earn him enough money so he could look after himself, and the baby of course. There was still no luck so one day Travis had decided to go for a run to get his mind off everything. He used to go for a run at least once a week with Katie, but since they had broken up, he hadn't done it since. There was still a little pang of guilt, not to mention pain, which hit Travis whenever he thought about the beautiful girl that was carrying his child, but had also broken his heart.<p>

It was suffice to say that Travis was completely out of it when he crashed into Malcolm Ryder. Literally. The eldest Stoll was going for a run around his neighborhood as he had planned, doing everything he could to rid his mind of thoughts about Katie Gardner. It was turning out to be almost impossible as everything he thought about somehow led him back to the daughter of Demeter. Travis had been so focused on trying to forget, he hadn't realized that someone was heading his way.

_Oof!_

"Watch it," Travis looked down at the person he had crashed into, surprised to see that he actually looked familiar. The guy stood up, brushing off his clothes. He looked like one of those intelligent kinds, wearing straight legged black jeans, a white polo and cream colored vest. His hair was a dark blonde, almost brown mop that was styled slightly in the front so it was sticking up. His eyes were a sharp grey and were rather piercing. Travis couldn't quite place who it was, but it was definitely someone that he knew.

"Travis?" The familiar stranger asked as he dusted off his jeans, looking at Travis in awe. It took the eldest Stoll a few seconds to recognize who he was standing in front of.

"Malcolm?" He asked, not bothering to hold back his surprise. Suddenly, he felt very self conscious. It was what always happened when he was around one of the Athena kids. They had this unspoken sense of power about them, always making Travis feel uncomfortable. He was immediately very aware that he was merely dressed in a white Adidas shirt, black rugby shorts with tattered and worn out running sneakers and that his hair was just piled on top of his head in a sweaty mop.

"Hey man, long time no see. I heard about you and Katie…" Malcolm trailed off for a second, looking a little uncomfortable for a second. He was quick to recover and continued speaking. "How are you holding up?"

"Yeah, I'm getting there. Looking for a job," he replied, feeling slightly uneasy. It wasn't that Malcolm was a mean guy, in fact he turned out to be a pretty good mate in Travis' opinion, but the pair hadn't talked in about two years when Malcolm left to go to university. Malcolm rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure out how he was going to word what he was to say next.

"About that actually…" Malcolm trailed off for a second. "Chiron was talking to me the other day and I was wondering if you wanted a job." Travis stood there for a second, stunned at what his old friend had just said. It took him a few moments to actually process what Malcolm had said, the words running through his head over and over like a broken record. He did everything he could to keep his jaw from colliding with the concrete.

"What?" Was the only intelligent reply Travis could come up with. Malcolm couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle.

"I should probably explain. I own an engineering company, well co-own. We need a few more electrical engineers and I know you are good with things like that. We offer training courses and they only last two years. After that, you have a job with us," Malcolm explained. Travis was doing his best to restrain himself from hugging the guy and jumping up and down like some crazy obsessed teenage pop-star fan. Instead, he nodded eagerly, thanking Malcolm profusely. In his mind, he thanked every single God he could name, thankful that his life was finally starting to turn around for the better.

* * *

><p>The news of the baby came sooner than Travis had ever expected. He nearly wet his pants when Connor had told him that Katie had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. The elder Stoll had done everything in his power to try and be there with Katie as she delivered, but Katie wasn't having it. Instead, she bought along her best friends, some girls from her cabin back at camp to join her. When Travis had asked about whether he was allowed to come beforehand, Katie had rather firmly (not to mention slightly rudely) that if he even came to the hospital the same day she was giving birth, she was going to file a restraining order against him. Part of him thought that it was just her baby mood swings she had been having way too many of, but by the distressed and dark look that was set in Katie's eyes, he knew that she would do what she had promised. So even though it was killing him, Travis had stayed in the apartment and merely waited for his younger brother to give him the news.<p>

He could remember exactly what he was doing and what he was thinking about when Connor had rushed through the door. It had been a particularly rough day for the eldest Stoll and all he wanted to do was have a long shower, eat like a horse and go to sleep. Travis had been up at camp since five am in the morning, helping Percy and Chris train a bunch of newbie campers. He was definitely not a morning person and he found himself consuming large amounts of caffeine before the sun had even risen. By the time lunch time had rolled around, it was suffice to say that Travis was completely knackered, not to mention grumpy. He was quick to stomach the food he had been given and headed off to the amphitheater to teach a bunch of preteens how to sword fight.

When he reached the area, he couldn't believe his luck (or his lack of). Travis was stuck with the Aphrodite girls, who barely knew how to hold a sword properly, let alone fight with one. They hated sword fighting and complained every two seconds, until Travis had threatened to cut their tongues. After that, they were quick to shut up. He was also stuck teaching a few of Demeter's children. Sighing, he wondered if the Gods were punishing him. There was a low grumble from the sky and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. One of the Demeter girls had eyed Travis with spite.

"You're the boy who knocked up our old counselor, aren't you?" she sneered, jutting her chin out as she spoke. Travis restrained the urge to give the girl a mighty good punch in the face as he calmly spoke.

"I did not 'knock her up.' She got pregnant. It takes two to tango," he replied, raising an eyebrow at the outspoken girl. In some ways, she looked similar to a particular beauty he still couldn't get off his mind, with the same dark hair that reached past her shoulders and the same sun kissed skin which was the result of many days out in the gardens. This little girl, however, was a snobby little cow and Travis would gladly have gotten rid of her. She was already doing his head in as flashbacks of him and Katie were replaying in his mind.

* * *

><p>Before he could head home after his tiring day, he had to go to the stores to pick up some baby supplies. With the help of Chiron, Annabeth, Chris and Connor's girlfriend, Chelsea, he had bought more things that his baby was going to need. This included things such as: pacifiers, some unisex clothes and toys, 'baby butt cleaner' as he liked to call it and other whatnot. Some of it he wasn't sure was going to actually come in handy, but he trusted Annabeth and Chelsea knew what they were thinking when they bought teethers and cute quilt blankets, so he let it be.<p>

By the time he got home, Travis Stoll was completely and utter knackered. He was in no mood to talk to anyone and all he wanted was the comfort of his bed. He started to heat up last night's leftovers, which was beef stew with mashed potatoes when Connor burst through the door, looking frazzled, excited and completely freaked out all at the same time.

"Travis! Travis!" He called out, his voice unusually high pitched as he searched the area for his older brother.

"What do you want Connor?" Travis groaned as he leant over the kitchen counter, letting his brother know where he was.

"Katie's given birth!" It took every cell in Travis' being to not pass out.

* * *

><p>A week after the news, there was a small knock on the Stoll's apartment door. Travis, who had been busy filling out application forms for his new job was quick to answer the door. He had been waiting everyday for Katie to come with his daughter, but so far there had been nothing yet, except for forms to fill out. Travis had been given a stack of legal documents that he needed to sign and things he needed to fill out to prove that he was going to be a fit father. It was probably the quickest, yet most careful thing that Travis had filled out in his entire existence.<p>

"Hey Travis," he heard a small voice say as he swung open the front door. Travis gulped loudly, doing his best not to gasp. Sure, he had been dreaming of this moment for the past few months, but having Katie Gardner stand right there, in the flesh, with a baby car-seat to her side had made everything feel so real. The eldest Stoll wanted to puke, but he maintained what he hoped was what looked like confidence as he glanced down at his ex-girlfriend. Although she looked paler than usual and the shine was out of her beautiful eyes, she still looked amazing. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight bun and she was wearing khaki shorts and a green printed shirt.

"Hey Katie," he greeted in a non-committal tone. He turned his gaze from his ex-girlfriend to the baby who was beside her. As soon as he saw her, he could feel his eyes start to water. The baby was absolutely, without a doubt, the most gorgeous thing Travis had ever landed his gaze on. Sure, he had known a few stunning girls throughout his years, dating most of them, but this was so much different. Knowing that this baby was going to be forever his filled the teenager with absolutely euphoria.

The baby was fast asleep at that moment, so Travis couldn't see the color of her eyes. Her hair was dark and curly, just like his own and was in an adorable pile on top of her head. She looked so fragile, so precious and it just filled Travis' heart with complete joy. She had a light tan to her skin already, her fists bunched together as she slept soundly.

"Here she is," Katie broke the silence as she handed the car-seat over to her ex-boyfriend, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to show. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to give her own baby away to one of the most irresponsible (but also irresistible) person she had ever met.

"Thanks, does she have a name?" Travis asked as he gratefully took the baby, his gaze not once leaving her.

"Not yet, I thought you should decide that. You have file the birth certificate once you figure it out," Katie told him, doing her best to clear her tone out of emotion. He finally looked up at her and as his deep brown eyes gazed into her own emerald orbs, she knew she was going to start to breakdown if she didn't leave. "I'll see you later," she mumbled quickly as she ran off as fast as she could, trying to rid herself of the tears. Part of Travis was tempted to chase after her, to beg her to come back, but he knew it was going to be of no use. Katie had made her choice and now it was his job to look after this baby.

By the end of the day, Travis still had no name for the baby. She had been pretty well behaved so far, sleeping for most of the day, but needing to be fed at least once every two hours. He had changed about six nappies in twelve hours, but she was sleeping again. Travis had laid his baby girl in the second-hand cot, careful to not wake her up as he pulled one of the quilt blankets over her small body.

"Beautiful girl," He heard a familiar voice comment behind him. Travis was quick to whirl around to see who was in the apartment, considering Connor and Chelsea had gone out for the night. He was worried that it was going to be some kind of monster out for revenge, or even worse, Demeter. But he was in luck as he saw his own father staring at him. Hermes always looked the same whenever Travis had seen him (not that he had very many times), with his salt and pepper hair, tall stature and his staff with two snakes entwined around it.

"D-dad?" Travis muttered intelligently. He could count the number of times he had ever properly talked to his dad with one hand and usually, when he came it was a sign that something bad was going to happen and Hermes was just going to warn his son. The only time Travis had ever remembered Hermes coming to talk to him, just to talk, was just after they had found out Luke was a traitor. The eldest Stoll thought that it was just because his dad was feeling guilty and wanted to reassure his sons that he did love them, in case they decided to join their evil step-brother.

"Still as bright as ever," Hermes commented good-naturedly. "You don't have a name for her yet, do you?" It was supposed to come out as a question, but the way he had said it made it sound like a statement. Travis, still in slight awe that he was standing with his father, had merely nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean, a few names have come to mind, but they aren't…" Travis trailed off for a second, trying to figure out what word would express how he was feeling. "…right." Hermes nodded, as if he understood what his son was feeling.

"What about Althea?" Hermes suggested, looking down at the sleeping baby. She certainly looked a bit like her mother, but she also looked a lot like her father. Hermes, being a God and all and being able to see in the future, knew that this girl was destined for great things.

"Althea," Travis repeated, liking the way the name sounded. "But why?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow as he glanced at his father. He was used to everything having some sort of catch, especially when it came to the Gods. Hermes shrugged.

"Althea means one who brings healing, Travis. Just look at what you've done for her, how you've changed as a person, for the better and all the things you've accomplished. I'd say it's a rather fitting name," he explained. Travis let those thoughts sink in, finding himself agreeing with every single word.

"Althea," he repeated once more, glancing down at the beautiful baby that was indeed his. "I like it."

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><p>Sorry the ending is kind of lame. Please review and let me know what you think :)<p> 


	4. Part Four, The Heart to Heart

**A/N:** I've changed my mind. Again. It's going to be a five-shot now :3 I think it's final. I sure hope so, but you never know with me. Thank you to everyone whose read, reviewed, favourited, alerted or a mixture of all. It truly means a lot.

I made myself a twitter, so you wanna follow me, please do! I'll be tweeting (once I get the hang of how it all works) about when I'm posting stories, any new ideas, any changes to stories and life in general. /#!/KiwiDaydreamer

**Disclaimer: **Kudos to the cool kid who owns Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Wait...that's not me...

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><p><em>Of all nature's gifts to the human race, what is sweeter to a man than his children? <em>

_- Cicero_

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><p><strong>Part Four: The heart to heart<strong>

After Travis had finished his story, it was suffice to say that Althea Stoll was at a loss for words. She just stared at her dad as if he was completely different person. It had never crossed her mind that all of this had happened, although to be perfectly honest, she didn't like to think about her mother at all. Sure, when she was younger she had always wondered where her mom was and what had happened between the two of them, but as she got older, her perspective changed. Althea started to notice the hurt expression her father seemed to wear whenever Katie was mentioned, so she eventually stopped asking. It was hard at first, but she got used to it. It was almost as if she purposefully forgot about her mother, just so she didn't have to think about her.

It physically hurt Althea to think about mothers. Whenever mothers' day came around and all the ads on television were advertising all the things you could buy from your mom because 'she totally deserved it,' Althea was quick to change the channel or just turn the TV set off. She knew three things about her mom before her dad had told her that story. One was that her name was Katie, two, she was a daughter of Demeter and three, she was a camper. Althea wouldn't be lying if she said she had created a version of her mom in her head.

The Katie that she had made up was a sweet, beautiful woman with kind green eyes and dark hair like Althea's. She was scared of the dark, loved sour candy and gardening. The Katie she had imagined loved drama shows such as Brothers and Sisters, although she tried to deny it. The Katie she had made up had a good and selfless reason as to why she left Travis and Althea. Hearing her dad's story had crushed every single dream and image that Althea had about her mother.

"Al?" Travis asked a few minutes later, slightly worried that his daughter hadn't said anything in reply. There was a small part of him that was regretting ever opening his mouth, but he knew that she deserved to know. Althea was old enough to understand. At least Travis hoped so.

"Yeah?" she asked, doing her best to make sure she sounded more confident than she felt. The uncharacteristic quietness etched in his daughter's voice almost broke his heart and he was immediately regretting his choice.

"Is everything okay?" He blurted out the words before he thought about what he was saying. Suddenly, he felt so stupid. Why on earth had he said something as inconsiderate and stupid, when it was obvious that she was _not_ okay? Travis inwardly face-palmed himself as he waited for his daughter to reply with something sarcastic and witty. But when no words came out of her mouth, Travis started to panic.

"Yeah," Althea couldn't really think of anything to say. She didn't make eye contact with her dad, afraid that if she did, she would burst into tears. Because quite honestly, that was all she wanted to do. There was a voice in her head trying to tell her that everything her dad had said was a big fat lie and she would wake up from the nightmare that was forming in front of her very eyes, but she couldn't deny it. Her mother had left her, and she had done so willingly. The mere thought broke Althea's heart and she swore she could feel her heart ripping into small pieces. Why hadn't she been good enough for her mom? Why hadn't her mom even bothered to try loving her? Was she really just an inconvenience?

Althea started to wonder whether she was an inconvenience for her father as well. He had said so himself that he was the reason she had turned his life around. But what if he hadn't wanted to grow up and mature like he had? What if it was all her fault that Travis wasn't living it up big? Travis had mentioned that Katie had broken up with him, just because he wanted to keep Althea. The sudden thought hit the young girl like a freight train and she struggled to breathe.

It was her fault her parents had broken up.

It was still rather obvious that Travis had some kind of attraction towards her mother. The way his eyes had glazed over whenever he said her name, mixed with the hurt from her betrayal pretty much said it all. Althea couldn't believe it. It was all her fault. Before she could even understand what was going on, a few tears fell down her sleek tanned cheek.

Travis glanced at his daughter, who was staring at the carpeted floor as if she had never laid eyes on such thing before. The silence was unnerving. He tried to think of what was possibly running through Althea's mind, but he couldn't come up with anything. As soon as he saw the first tear roll down her cheek, Travis felt crushed. He hadn't felt this way ever since Katie had broken up with him. It was as if someone had literally ripped his heart right out of his chest with a chainsaw, cut it up using broken scissors and then shoved it back like it was turkey stuffing.

He was going through a whirlwind of emotions. The biggest and most obvious one was pain. He wasn't feeling pained just for himself, but for his daughter. The realization just hit him that he had basically told her that her mother was some heartless, cruel, selfish soul. Which definitely wasn't the case. Even to this day, fifteen years after Katie Gardner shattered his heart and left him in pieces, he still couldn't place any blame on her. He didn't detest her, in fact, he pretty much still was completely and totally head over heels in love with her. (Not that he was ever going to admit that.)

Travis had tried to rationalize with himself. She was just doing what was best for her. That was the thing about Katie, she was extremely driven. When she wanted something, she was going to everything possible to get the said something. It was one of the very many things that Travis had admired about her. He knew how much that exchange meant to her. She did extra projects, wrote millions of essays and pretty much worked her butt off to get that exchange and it was suffice to say that she completely deserved that. After all the hard work she had put into it, it would be a shame to see it go to waste.

There was always a small part of Travis that wondered why she hadn't stayed. They had been working on their relationship for long time, two whole years. Travis had done his best to impress her parents and he was extremely pleased when Mr. Gardner had approved of him. It had not been an easy task, so say the least, but Travis knew that if it was for him and Katie, all the pain was worth it. The couple had to overcome so many challenges and so many differences, but she threw it all away in one night. That was the thing that had torn Travis up. Two years he had been telling her he loved her and she had said she loved him, but he had started to wonder if it was sincere love.

Once Althea had started to grow into the beautiful young girl she was now, Travis had made a decision to stop. To stop falling for Katie, to stop thinking about her, to stop loving her. The first two were extremely hard for him, but he managed to somehow to do it. The third one, well, he didn't think he was ever going to stop. But Althea was his life now and as far as he was concerned, she was his number one girl.

"Come here baby," he murmured in what he hoped was a soothing tone, as he reached over to his daughter to pull her into a hug.

It could be said that Althea was a girly-girl. She liked doing her hair up in many different styles, keeping up with the latest trend in fashion, wearing heels and makeup, but one thing Althea Anastasia Stoll did not do was cry. She did not blub over sad movies, over boys, over injuries, over nothing. Travis could remember the last time she had cried, when she was nine years old and her cousin Lysander had to be taken to hospital after getting tackled in a soccer game.

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><p>"<em>Go Lysander go!" Althea cheered her favorite cousin on as the black and white ball made contact with his orange soccer boot. Lysander grinned at the sound of her encouragement, kicking the ball towards one of his team members. It was a typical Saturday for the Stoll families. Althea and Lysander were both part of soccer teams at their school and Saturday meant soccer day. <em>

_Travis and Connor would always glance at each other with grins on their faces as their children ran around in blue and white striped shirts and blue shorts, chasing after a ball. It was always a joyous experience for the whole family and was even a bonding time of sorts. After both Althea and Lysander had finished their games, depending on the weather, Connor would take them to the best ice-cream parlor in town and if it was raining and cold, Travis would drive to the candy shop a few blocks away from the soccer field. _

_Suddenly, a scream of pain was heard as Lysander hit the dewed grass, tears streaming down his face while he grabbed his shoulder with agony etched on his young features. One of the members on the other team, a boy of much larger frame, both height and weight wise, had run into the young Stoll, sending him to the ground, his shoulder dislocating and his arm snapping with a resounding crunch._

"_Lysander!" Althea screamed as she tried to make her way to him. Already, Connor was by his sons' side, muttering and cursing in Ancient Greek while Chelsea called an ambulance. Travis was quick to grab his daughter's hand as she half dragged him to where her cousin lay. _

_Even though Lysander was the one who was hit and in the most obvious pain, Althea felt like she was hurting too. There was this sick feeling in her stomach and seeing her cousin's arm bent in such an odd angle made her want to empty the contents of her stomach. The tears were evident on her face as they kept rolling down her cheeks like a waterfall. She didn't bother to brush them away as she looked at her dad with the most helpless expression on her face._

"_It's going to okay Al. Lysander is going to be okay," he murmured, both to himself and to his daughter as he wiped her tears away with a stroke of his thumb. For his baby girl's sake, he hoped that he was right._

Lysander had been fine, just like Travis had predicted. He had a dislocated shoulder and fractured a part of his bone in his arm and snapping another part, having to wear a cast for seven weeks with a sling, but he lived.

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><p>Althea flinched a little as her dad's arms wrapped around her, slightly startled by the sudden contact. She was quick to loosen up as she buried her head into his chest. Travis smelt like African axe, with a mixture of cinnamon and freshly toasted bread and burnt copper all rolled into one. It smelt so <em>Travis<em> that Althea couldn't help but smile into her dad's black printed t-shirt. She wrapped her arms around her father's waist and felt her tears begin to dampen Travis' shirt, but he couldn't care less.

Travis could barely remember the last time he held Althea so close. They had always had an extremely close relationship. After all, it was just the two of them, but since Althea turned thirteen, things had started to change a bit. Instead of going to her dad for advice, she would go to her Aunty Chelsea or to her friends. Travis did his best to be understanding, up to the point where he was sort of glad that Althea went to Chelsea for things 'feminine' related. But there were times that Travis missed having his daughter go to him for hugs instead of Iris messaging Jess Rodriguez, heading over to the other Stoll house or even worse, talking to Thad about stuff.

"I'm sorry," was the muffled words that came out of Althea's mind. The tone of her voice sounded so genuine and innocent, that Travis was confused for a second.

"What in Hades are you apologizing for?" he asked, looking down at her. Althea lifted her head off her dad's chest, but refused to meet his eye.

"I-it's my fault you and mom broke up," Althea replied, struggling to even speak. She sniffed, hating the predicament she was in. Just like her mother, she hated any showing any sign of weakness. It was the reason she didn't like to cry, because it was a sign that she was weak. She hated feeling weak. It made her feel stupid and useless.

The elder Stoll had his daughter's words rushing through his mind over and over again, like some broken record. _It's my fault that you and mom broke up. _He was truly astonished that she even thought such things like that.

"Oh no Al," he gushed quickly, pulling his daughter closer and resting his head on top of hers, holding her as she sobbed. By then, she couldn't help it. She felt a whirlwind of emotions. Betrayal was one of the many. How could her own mother do this to her? Mothers were supposed to be there for their children, to love and protect them. Katie was supposed to be the one who Althea could talk to about school problems, Thad and just life in general. She was the one who was supposed to teach her how to put make-up on, go shopping with and just be a mother. Why hadn't she? She also felt incredibly guilty. As she had just previously voiced, she was the reason that her parents had broken up. It was all her fault.

"What are you talking about dad? If it wasn't for me, you two would still be together," she replied bitterly. The words stunned Travis. He never thought that she was going to react like this. Hades, to be honest, he didn't quite know how she was going to react.

He let go of Althea for a second, before one of his hands grabbed her chin.

"Look at me Al," he said, his tone strangely soft. He was surprised that he could even speak in such a voice. Growing up in the Hermes cabin, which happened to be the busiest and fullest, not to mention messiest cabin throughout the whole camp, Travis had quickly learnt the lesson of hardening up. Nobody in the cabin would complain or moan about their lives, it was just the way that Luke ran the place. Even when the younger ones were injured, they would go to the infirmary or the Apollo cabin without shedding a single tear, knowing that Luke would be angry if they cried. They were taught that was crying was stupid and wasn't worth it. Nobody knew the first thing about being sympathetic, simply because that just wasn't the way they were taught to live. The first time anyone had expressed some kind of emotional pain was when they had found out Luke was a traitor, but even then, they kept their feelings to themselves.

If Travis was being honest, he had no idea how to comfort anyone, and he hated doing so with a passion. He didn't like crying, as it involved emotions and generally telling the truth, two things that a Stoll was never good with dealing with. The first time he had ever properly comforted someone was his own brother during the second Titan war when Connor had been stabbed in the side by one of the traitorous demigods. It was honestly one of the most terrifying experiences for the both of the Stolls and Travis had been so scared that he was going to be losing the only real family he had. Truth be told, half the reason he had been consoling his bleeding brother was because he was also trying to console himself.

When he got together with Katie, he learnt how to deal with emotions. Well, sort of. He knew what made her happy, which were those totally sappy lines, romantic walks on the beach and cute 'I love you' messages that even him blush just by sending them. He learnt what made her angry, things like pranks on her cabin, Mondays and a whole bunch of other things that Travis learnt she got ticked due to experience. Even then, he didn't like to deal with her when she was upset and usually resorted to an awkward pat on the back. That would make Katie angry and she'd end up screaming at him, until he finally got a bit of sense and reached over and kissed her, just to make her shut up.

Yet, when it came to Althea, it was a totally different story. Ever since she was younger, Travis was the only person who knew how to cheer her up whenever she was feeling down. Usually, it required a trip to the candy store or the ice-cream place (Because really, who doesn't like ice-cream and candy?) while she was still a child. When she had gotten a bit older, Travis learnt that she felt better after a bit of retail therapy, or talking to her friends for a few hours. So he let her.

Althea refused to meet her father's eyes. She had just managed to stop the flow of tears and was scared that if she looked at her dad, she would start bawling again. And she definitely did **not** want that.

"Althea," he said his tone slightly firmer as he pulled her chin towards his face, so she had no choice but to look at him. She did so rather reluctantly as her watery emerald orbs met with his sad, chocolate brown ones.

"What?" she mumbled.

"Listen to me and listen to me good," he started. Travis paused for a second, trying to find the right words. It took a little while, but he somehow found them. He hoped. "You are not the reason your mother and I broke up. It was a decision that we both chose to make." Althea was quiet for a moment.

"Yeah, but if I wasn't born you and m-" she began, but Travis was quick to cut her off.

"Stop with the 'buts.' We could go on about the 'buts' and 'what ifs' for the rest of eternity, but they don't matter. What matters is the choice that we made, I made. I chose to have you Althea. And if I could go back and chose again, I would pick exactly the same thing," he said, quite surprised that he made such a comment. But when he thought about it, it was true. Okay, so he didn't have a wife, or a mansion with a pool, or even his dream car. But he had so much more. He still had his brother, and he had a good job. Most of all, he had his daughter. The most beautiful and amazing girl that he could have ever imagined and he loved her more than anything.

"Really?" she couldn't help but ask. By the look in his eyes when he had told the story, she knew that he was still in love with Katie. Why in Hades would he not want her back?

"Really Althea, I mean every word I say," he murmured. He was tempted to add an 'I love you' to the end of it, but when she reached over and wrapped her arms around his middle, he knew that he didn't have to. She already knew that, but he wanted to be certain. Travis was slightly taken aback at the gesture, as it was something that she hadn't done in a while. He quickly recovered, putting his arms around his daughter. "I love you Althea, more than you'll ever know," he added, just for good measure. He sure as heck didn't say it often, but he definitely meant it. Travis had never been so sure of something in his entire life.

"I love you too daddy," Althea replied, a small smile appearing on her face. Travis hugged her tighter, his lips resting on the crown of her dark wavy hair. Sure, it wasn't the way he had expected his life to go, but he wouldn't have had it any other way.

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><p><strong>AN:** Too sappy? Too out of character? Didn't make sense? You liked it? I am many things, but not a mind reader. Please let me know what you think! :)


	5. Part Five, The Meeting

**A/N:** I'm a really mean person. You'll see why when you finish reading. And I have changed my mind again. [Don't give me that look Gerardo] Aaaand there is still going to be another part after this. Without any further adieu, read and review :3

**Disclaimer: **Yes, I really do own the Percy Jackson and Olympians characters. And I also hunt unicorns and am married to Sam Tsui. HAHA, oh I wish. Buuut, I own Althea, Lysander and Damon. Well, not really. I don't have a fifteen year old son nor daughter. That would be weird, considering I'm that age. Anywaaaaaaaaay...

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><p><strong>Part Five: The meeting<strong>

He wasn't quite sure how time managed to go by so quickly, but before he knew it, Travis was loading suitcases the back of Connor's family van. To save gas and money, they decided that they were going to carpool. Nobody really minded anyway. As per usual, Lysander and Althea loved to be spending time with one another. Many people confused the pair for being twins or siblings, as they were only a year apart and it seemed to amuse them to no end. It was suffice to say that they were attached to the hip, just like Travis and Connor were at their age. They were both enrolled at the same public school, which was about a ten minute drive away. Althea and Lysander did everything together, from playing in the same sports teams, to taking the same after school classes and they even managed to be in most of the same classes together.

"We're leaving in five minutes!" Travis called as he slammed the door to the back of the van shut. He glanced at the front of Connor's house, leaning on the gray van and waiting for them to all come out. Connor and Chelsea had bought a house in a nice suburban area, where all the houses looked the same, with various colors of brick that dotted the area with matching picket fences and side garages. There was a part of Travis that couldn't believe that Connor had actually settled down, matured and had two great kids.

Even though both of the Stolls were incredibly immature, Connor was always the one who took things a _little_ too far, always expecting Travis to help him to get out of sticky situations. He met his match when he turned seventeen and a beautiful daughter of Hecate stepped into his life. It was suffice to say that she definitely put him in his place and soon enough, he was madly, truly and irrevocably in love and asked the girl to marry him. Travis was quite surprised that his brother had turned into a pile of lovesick mush, but then again, love did strange things to people. He knew that from first-hand experience.

"We're coming!" he heard Althea shout from inside the house. She and Lysander were still in the living room, saying goodbye to Chelsea and trying to convince Lysander's younger brother to come with them. Damon was only eight years old, a complete splitting image of Connor with the same curly brown locks, chocolate brown eyes with the similar mischievous glint that his father and uncle shared. It was hard to believe that he and Lysander were related, as they barely looked the same. Lysander took after his mother, with a tall, well-built and tanned frame with curly dirty blonde hair and blue eyes the color of a cloudless sky during midsummer. The elder Stoll was having a hard time trying to pry his brother away from his mother. It was going to be Damon's first time going to camp and he was absolutely terrified, wanting to stay with his mother instead of going.

"Damon, we are going to be late, let's go," Lysander muttered, grabbing his younger brother by the hand. Like his father, he didn't have much patience and was itching to get on the road and head to camp as soon as possible. The youngest Stoll shook his head, his brown locks flying into his face as he held on to his mom's hand.

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><p>Although it seemed like forever, Lysander and Althea managed to convince Damon to come with them. It took a whole lot of patience and Lysander was on his last nerve with his brother, but they managed to do so eventually.<p>

Travis smiled at his daughter as she got into the van in between her two cousins. She had a feeling that Lysander was going to lose his patience rather quickly with his younger brother so Althea volunteered to look after Damon throughout the duration of the trip. Everyone was quite relieved, although it couldn't be said who was the most relieved out of them all. Lysander was thankful as he didn't have to look after his brother anymore. He had stayed up late last night with his dad making sure everything in the house was safe and that Chelsea had everything she needed. It was a lot easier said than done. Connor and Chelsea were glad that Althea had taken the responsibility to look after their youngest son and they were reassured with the fact that she would actually look after him.

The eldest Stoll gave a small sigh as he heard his brother turn on the car ignition. The trip to Camp Half Blood took about five hours and he and Connor were going to be swapping halfway. Travis settled into the front passenger seat, glanced behind him to make sure that all of the children had buckled in correctly and they were off.

Seeing Althea look after Damon, answering all the questions the curious boy fired at her, playing cards and I-spy gave Travis a bit of a sad feeling. He had often wondered what life would be like if he and Katie had stayed together.

He wondered about if they would still be living in the same area, although he highly doubted it. Katie had always hated the big cities and had wanted to move into a boring little hick town closer to her home. Travis had never wanted to leave the loud hustle and bustle he loved that was the city, but if it was for Katie, well, anything could change. He wondered what kind of job he'd had, or if he would have even had one.

Travis wondered mostly whether they would have had more kids. He vaguely remembered hearing Althea say that she always wanted a sibling and Travis often felt sad that she never had the chance to have one. Althea never complained about it openly, however, and whenever asked about the situation, she'd always smile and say that she had Lysander and that enough. Most people would believe her, but she didn't have Travis fooled. You could see the longing in her eyes, how much she wished that she had a sibling.

After having all these thoughts, Travis usually found himself in a sad state of mind. He never liked thinking about things that made him sad, but he always thought about Katie. So it was pretty much a lose-lose situation that often frustrated the eldest Stoll.

"What are your thoughts about seeing Katie?" Connor asked his brother in a low voice. In all honesty, he had been worried about his brother since they had found out that Katie was coming back. In fact, he went down to Camp with a few others just to discuss the matter. He, along with Percy and Annabeth, Chiron, Drew, Chelsea, Chris, Clarisse and even Malcolm found time in his incredibly busy schedule to come to the Big House.

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><p>"I don't think this is the best idea Chiron," Connor began slowly, looking at the former head councilors.<p>

"Connor, we don't really have a choice, I know about Travis and Katie's..." Chiron paused for a moment, doing his best to find an appropriate word. He knew more about the relationship they had and what had happened than what most of the previous head counselors sitting in front of him had thought. After about hundreds of years of living, the aging centaur was used to seeing young relationships ending badly, but he had never encountered such a circumstance before.

If he was being honest, there was a part of him that had seriously wondered whether Travis was truly going to keep the baby. It sure had been a surprise when the eldest Stoll had awkwardly knocked on the door to the Big House to explain what had happened and why he needed help. Chiron hadn't thought that Travis had it in him. Travis was many great things, but he sorely lacked commitment and couldn't stand children younger than ten, so it made him anxious to see how Travis was going to deal with his own children. Chiron knew from first-hand experience and being a father figure to most of the campers, that it was a lot of hard work. Being a parent was tiring and exhausting, requiring dedication, patience, love and gentle care - Qualities that were not exactly Travis Stoll's strong points.

Yet somehow, Travis managed to raise a beautiful and amazing daughter. Chiron had suppressed a laugh when the curly haired young man had told him about all of the parenting books he read and had even asked Chiron himself for advice, especially when it came to Gods and Althea's knowledge of them.

In some ways, Althea heavily reminded Chiron of her mother. They had a few similarities in physical features, such as the petite frame and the piercing green eyes, down to some of Katie's hobbies, like gardening and spending hours in the sun. But in more ways, Althea was like her father. They shared the dark tousled hair, mischievous glint in their eyes and their love for pranking other campers. Althea was certainly a handful to keep still at times when she was younger, but Chiron was extremely proud of her and her achievements.

"Their what?" Percy prompted the old centaur, pulling him out of his trance. He sat to the left of Chiron, his arm casually resting behind his wife's wooden chair, leaning in slightly to hear what Chiron had to say about Travis and Katie. Percy was a good friend of the Stolls and knew a bit about what had happened about between the pair, but not as much as he would've liked.

"Their history," Chiron answered curtly. "But we need as much of the older campers as we can," he replied, glancing at the youngest Stoll. Connor tried to retort, but he knew that there was no point.

"How did you get a hold of Katie anyway?" Drew asked, sounding less than interested as she checked her perfectly manicured hand before looking up at Chiron.

"What do you mean?" Chiron asked, slightly confused.

"What she means is," Annabeth spoke up for the first time during the meeting, picking up Drew's chain of thought. Even though Annabeth and the daughter of Aphrodite were not the best of friends, they were both close to Katie when she was around, and due to that, they decided to be at least civil towards one another. "We haven't heard from Katie since she left. How did you track her down?"

The room was silenced for a moment, everyone absorbed in their thoughts for a few moments. Chiron shifted uncomfortably, shifting his weight from one hoof to another.

"I have my ways," he muttered rather stiffly. Clarisse had opened his mouth to ask their old mentor about his 'ways' but Chris was quick to cut her off.

"Well, why don't we just keep Travis away from Katie?" he suggested lamely, trying to change the subject. He figured that if Chiron had wanted to tell them about something, they would've known by now. Questioning him wasn't going to help, if anything it would just annoy him. Connor glanced at his half brother as if he had sprouted three heads, grown an orange beard and started speaking in Swedish.

"Are you actually being _serious_?" The younger Stoll couldn't help but question in an incredulous tone.

"What?" Chris shrugged, glad that the subject had been successfully changed and no-one was harassing Chiron anymore. It would've been unnecessary and time consuming.

"There is no way that we can keep Travis away from Katie," Connor said in a 'this-should-be-painfully-obvious' tone of voice. "If he wants to see her, and you all know like Hades that he is, Travis is going to get his way."

Chris said nothing for a moment. He knew by Chiron's earlier reaction before, that there was something that he was hiding and it wasn't something that was good. He didn't want to see Travis get hurt, again, but he knew that Connor was right. His half-brother was going to see Katie and it was not going to go down well.

"Well then, it's just going to be a party and a half," he muttered sullenly.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean?" Hearing his older brother's voice had snapped Connor out of his reverie. It took the younger Stoll a second to remember exactly what he was talking about, but he remembered soon enough.<p>

"You're not fooling anyone Travis. What exactly are you going to say to her?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested. Travis thought for a moment. If he was being perfectly honest, he didn't have the slightest clue. There was a small part of him that hoped Katie would race into his arms and that they would reconcile and live happily ever after, but he knew not to kid himself. If Katie had left him so many years ago, why would she want to come back?

He barely knew if he wanted to see her. The mere thought of the whole idea made him sick in the stomach and ecstatic all at the same time. Travis hated having conflicted feelings, but this was Katie Gardner we were talking about. It took a special kind of person to have such an effect on Travis, and Katie was the top of that list.

"I have no idea," Travis confessed, looking out the window to avoid his brother's glare. "But I'll think of something."

* * *

><p>It took another three hours for the Stolls to get to Camp Half Blood. Usually, it would have taken a little less time, but Damon insisted on having about seven toilet breaks and wanted to stop three times for food that he didn't end up eating. By the time they had reached the place, they were all equally glad to get out of there.<p>

"All right dad, Althea and I are going to take Damon to the cabin, is there anything you need us to do?" Lysander asked as he hopped out of the van, stretching his arms above his head and groaning slightly as his younger brother clung to him. The elder Stoll usually didn't mind having Damon stuck to him when they were at home, but at camp, it tended to ruin his reputation slightly. Connor thought for a moment before shaking his head slightly, his dark hair flying.

"I don't think so. Chiron wants us to meet at the Big House, so we'll see you later," Connor said, giving his youngest son a quick hug before leaving with his older brother.

They reached the Big House in about five minutes and it was suffice to say that Travis was freaking out. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to react to seeing his former flame and let's just say he wasn't exactly excited about it. Terrified was more the word that expressed his emotions.

_Calm down Stoll!_ He scolded himself inwardly, forcing himself to take deep breaths. Seeing his older brother's change in demeanor, Connor gave Travis a sideways glance, raising an eyebrow in worry.

"Are you alright there?" Connor asked, sounding uncertain. He was never a fan of talking about emotions, but he do so (rather grudgingly) if he had to, especially when it was to do with his brother.

"I'm fine Connor," the elder Stoll replied in a flat tone, suggesting the complete opposite. Just as Connor was about to retort, Travis swung the door of the Big House open and the first person he saw just happened to be Katie Gardner.


	6. Part Six, The Confrontation

**A/N: **Here it is! The last part of the Healing of Travis Stoll. Please let me know what you think of it! Thank you to everyone who has read this story and especially to those who reviewed. And to my big brother for helping me along the way. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **It saddens me to say...I don't own Percy Jackson. Excuse me while I go cry in a corner.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Six: The Confrontation <strong>

For a moment, Travis had forgotten how to breathe. It was as if time had slowed, no matter how clichéd that sounded. Fifteen years later and Katie was still as beautiful as before, perhaps even more so. Her dark brown hair was shorter than Travis remembered it, only just touching her shoulders instead of midway down her back like the last time they had seen each other. Katie's back was to the eldest Stoll and he couldn't help but feel slightly relieved. Seeing the back of her was already sending Travis' mind spinning out of control, and he was worried to even think about what would have happened if she had been facing him.

Katie was wearing a dark singlet that showed her tanned shoulders and her upper back, along with a flowing white skirt that reached just below her knees. She looked so incredibly stunning, it took Travis a minute or two to get a hold of himself.

"Travis," Connor hissed as he elbowed his brother in the ribs, snapping the elder Stoll out of his funk. His older brother was reacting in a way that Connor had expected he would, but even though he was prepared to see his brother star struck, he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. Growing up, Travis was always the calm, cool and collected guy. He didn't falter whenever he talked to girls and barely batted an eyelash whenever one of the Aphrodite kids would ask him out. Yet, whenever it came to Katie, it was always a different story and this time was definitely no exception.

"What?" he replied in rather plain tone which suggested that he was still partially in his trance.

"Are you going to talk to her or keep gaping like a love-sick fifteen year old boy?" his younger brother asked in a rather amused tone. Although a great deal of Connor was worried about his older brother, there was a small part of him that couldn't help but be slightly entertained by the sight of his obviously stricken brother. He hadn't seen Travis so flustered with a girl ever since Katie had walked out on him.

Hearing Connor's words struck Travis like lightning and he was quick to straighten his posture and snap his mouth shut. There were a million things running through his mind, but he had made a decision then and there. Before he could think about it much further, he strode over towards Katie's direction.

"Hey there Gardner," he greeted once he reached her; thankful that the nervous tone hadn't entered his voice. He was already internally freaking out as is, and he was grateful that it wasn't showing. Katie jumped slightly, startled by the voice she hadn't heard in fifteen years as she whirled around.

"Travis," she breathed, doing her best not to look unnerved by her ex-boyfriend's presence. Travis looked her in the eye for what seemed like forever, although in reality, had only lasted a moment. It ended quickly as Katie coughed awkwardly and the pair broke eye contact, Travis averting his eyes to the ground.

Up close, Katie looked even more beautiful than before. Her emerald colored, almond shaped eyes seemed to grow since the last time they met and her lips fuller than ever before. Her face wasn't as round as it used to be, and her cheekbones seemed higher than Travis remembered. Freckles still dotted her cheeks and nose, more than there used to be. It took Travis all the self control he could muster to not reach over and kiss her.

"How have you been?" Travis asked, feeling slightly awkward as he twiddled his thumbs behind his back, something he did only when he was extremely nervous, which was an extremely rare case in itself. He wouldn't have been lying if he had admitted he had practiced talking to Katie in their bathroom last week. Travis had stood in front of the mirror while Althea was at soccer practice, thinking of casual lines to create conversation and generally did his best to try to not make such a fool out of himself. Yet, here he was, doing exactly what he didn't want to be doing.

Before Katie could open her mouth to answer, someone interrupted their conversation with a loud cough. The elder Stoll looked up to see who it was and was slightly surprised by the person he saw. Jake Mason, former counselor of the Hephaestus was standing behind Katie with his arm firmly and rather protectively around her waist. He hadn't aged much during the years, with the same black wavy mop, tanned skin, dark eyes and well built body.

Once upon a time, Jake and Travis had been the best of friends when they had first started out at Camp Half Blood. They were both all year round campers, so they spent a lot of time together and used to be as close as anything. That soon changed when Jake had dated one of Travis' half-sisters and broke her heart. All of the Hermes kids had held an unspoken grudge towards the son of Hephaestus and they hadn't talked since then. That was a good twenty or so years ago and Travis couldn't help but feel slightly shocked seeing him again.

"You remember Jake, right Travis?" Katie asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence between the trio. Travis could only nod, not trusting himself to speak. Questions were racing through his head at a hundred miles an hour and he was unable to think straight. All he could picture was Jake's arm around Katie's waist. Where his arm was fifteen years ago, where his arm still should be. That surely meant something. They were together obviously, or maybe even worse. The elder Stoll tried not to dwell on the thoughts and focused his attention back to the two people in front of him. Before Travis could say anything, Katie started to speak. "We got married a few years ago."

* * *

><p>The words hit Travis harder than any monster had ever struck him in his entire life. It took a moment for him to process the information and when he did, the eldest Stoll felt the need to go find a toilet and vomit. The mere thought that Katie had truly moved on, she had fallen in love with someone else was enough to make Travis want to run away and hide in a hole and never come out. If his reputation wasn't on the line, he would have certainly gone through with the thought.<p>

There was a sickening feeling starting to swell in his chest and he felt his stomach tighten. It was as if he had been repetitively stabbed by a celestial sword in the torso. The son of Hermes felt as if a cold hand of steel had wrapped around his neck and stopped any oxygen from entering his body. No other pain he had ever experienced in his life had ever felt this remotely painful.

"Congratulations," Travis managed to choke a few minutes later after finally finding his voice. He was quick to excuse himself before rushing out of the Big House, unable to stand the sight of Katie with another man any longer.

* * *

><p>It was rather suffice to say that Travis' mind was reeling at that point. He stumbled out of the Big House like a drunkard, unaware of the array of voices that were calling for him. His mind was quickly filling with hundreds of questions as he raced into the forest. Travis had no idea where he was going, but somehow managed to find himself at Zeus' fist. Unsure of what to do next, he slumped down against the rock.<p>

_We got married a few years ago._

The words kept circling his head like a broken record, each word like another violent stab in the chest. For a moment, Travis was in complete denial. She had to be kidding, right? It was just a joke. She hadn't moved on. It was a nightmare. Yeah, that's exactly what it was. Just a nightmare. He was going to wake up in a few seconds to find that he was back at home, content with his life and not worried about Katie.

But Travis knew that he was kidding himself and that everything that had just happened was one hundred percent true. Katie had truly moved on. Even if he was unwilling to accept it, it didn't mean that it wasn't the truth.

Seeing Katie had obviously bought back feelings that the young man had been trying to bury for the past fifteen years. Oh and he had worked so hard at it too. Travis had thrown away all of the things she had given to him, burnt all the pictures of the pair and even had gone as far as to cleaning the whole apartment as thoroughly as he could, to rid the home of her scent. The only thing that Travis had kept that reminded him of Katie was his daughter.

It had gotten easier to forget about Katie as the years went by. The elder Stoll had started to focus on other things, such as his daughter and his job and his family, namely Connor and his family. Those three things were the most important aspects of Travis' life and he knew that he would have no idea where he would be without them.

Once and awhile, something would come up that would remind Travis of the beautiful daughter of Demeter that he had fallen oh so hard for. Maybe it was her favorite flower that he spotted while driving Althea to soccer practice or going to camp and seeing one of Demeter's children that looked like a carbon copy of Katie. He had taught himself to stop thinking about the girl, as he knew that it would just bring pain and suffering, two things he could happily go without.

So that's exactly what he did. He just stopped thinking about Katie. It was as if he put a mental brick wall up in his mind that immediately barricaded his thoughts of a certain Katie Gardner. Whenever her name was mentioned, which was rather rare, Travis would feel a pang of pain for only a second before it would fade away. He never talked about her as he didn't think there was a need to. Connor never asked, because he knew that the conversation would get nowhere and Malcolm had learnt not to mention it. As for Althea, after six years of constant pestering, she realized that he wasn't going to tell her until he was ready so she had dropped the subject entirely and never thought of her either. Yet, all those years of hard work had slipped away in less than a millisecond when Travis had laid eyes on Katie.

* * *

><p>Travis cursed loudly, running a hand through his dark curly hair in absolute frustration. He couldn't remember a time he was this annoyed with himself, apart from the day that Katie had left. Since he was so consumed with his thoughts, he didn't realize that someone had followed him and was standing over him.<p>

"Travis, I think we need to talk," he heard that familiar voice murmur in a soft tone as he felt the soft ground shift slightly as Katie placed herself next to him. Travis hadn't dared to look at the woman who was now sitting next to him and did his best to subtly make enough room between them so they was no chance they could make physical contact.

"Talk about what?" he snapped, much harsher than he had intended. The elder Stoll couldn't help it. He was absolutely frustrated, infuriated and felt betrayed, to say the least.

"Just talk," Katie replied in a casual tone. "How have you been?" For a second, Travis felt a flash of anger strike him. _You left me Katie. Fifteen years ago, with a newborn baby that was ours. You completely abandoned me and certainly made no effort to try to contact me or Althea throughout all these years and yet you have the nerve to ask me how I've been! _ He felt like screaming, but he knew that starting off with bicker would only end even more bitterly. Travis decided to be the bigger person in this case and cleared his throat.

"I've been good," He replied after a moment's thought. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew that they were true. Travis had the most amazing daughter he could have ever imagined who was beautiful, talented, sweet, kind natured and loving, everything he wasn't growing up. He had a younger brother who he loved to bits and vice versa with a sister-in-law that was just like a sister and two nephews he treated like his own sons. Travis had a steady job with good pay, not to mention a friendly and understanding boss who was also a good friend. He had a nice house, a working car and everything he needed. Life was good for him, simply because he had worked hard to make it that way.

"That's good," Katie murmured, sounding as if she was in deep thought. Travis wondered what she had been doing in the past fifteen years, what she had made of her life.

"What about you?" he asked, genuinely interested. It took the daughter of Demeter a second before she replied.

"Yeah, life is good too. I live in Manhattan with Jake and I own a florist place. The exchange was great and I saw Jake at the airport when I got back and we just…connected," Katie's sentence ended slightly awkwardly as she tried to find an appropriate word. Travis did a quick calculation in his head. It had taken Katie only about five years to get over him. The thought stung the elder Stoll like a million bee stings.

"That's, er, good," Travis smiled weakly, trying to hide his discomfort.

"How's our girl?" Katie asked, quick to change the subject. At this, Travis looked up from the ground to look at Katie. It took him a minute to come to the realization that she didn't even know Althea's name.

"My girl," Travis corrected quietly. "Her name is Althea. She turned fifteen this year. She's an amazing girl," he added, half tempted to say 'just like you.' Katie smiled, but it didn't seem fully genuine, rather somewhat sad. When she didn't say anything, Travis took it as a sign to continue. "She likes gardening, just like you. Grew our vegetable garden out the back a few years ago and still manages to maintain it. Like me, she loves pranking. Her and Lysander, Connor's son, are the camp's resident prankers," Travis smiled broadly, quite happy to speak such things about his daughter.

"Just like her father," Katie said, her tone more downcast than before. Travis tried to decipher what that could have meant in his mind, but he was quick to give up. He knew, along with the rest of the entire male population, that there was just no way to even try and figure out what any female was truly thinking. Just as Travis was about to say more, another familiar voice interrupted.

* * *

><p>"Dad!" The voice called out about fifty meters away from where Travis and Katie had been seated. Travis was immediately alert by the sound of his daughter's seemingly alarmed tone.<p>

"I'm at Zeus' fist!" He called out, quickly standing up and brushing the dirt off his jeans. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as a recognizable tall, dark curly haired girl had appeared in front of him, in black jean shorts and a faded camp shirt. Althea was bent over, her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Dad, Chiron and the others have been looking for you. You've been gone for almost three hours," she stated. Travis looked up at the sky, noting that it was a slightly darker shade of blue since he last stared up o the heavens. He hadn't realized how long it had been until Althea had mentioned it.

Althea didn't notice that there was a woman standing behind her father as her eyes were on the ground while she tried to get more oxygen back into her body. When she finally looked up to see her dad's reaction, Althea saw her. As instinct, Althea took a step back from her father and put her hand to her sword that was in her back pocket.

"Is this her?" she asked unable to bring herself to calling the lady her mother. Neither Katie nor Travis said anything, but the silence spoke louder than any words could have ever said. Nobody knew quite what to say and the trio was left in a somewhat awkward silence.

Althea looked at Katie up and down, trying to figure her out in her head. She saw some of the similarities that they shared, such as the same colored eyes and face shape, but that was about it. The young girl had spent so many years of her life creating this perfect picture of her mother in her mind, but nothing could have ever prepared her for the day when she had finally met Katie.

* * *

><p>There were so many things she wanted to say, so many questions that hadn't been answered and so much that Althea wanted to know. The younger Stoll wondered exactly what Katie was like. Sure, she was definitely pretty, but she wondered what had attracted her father to such a lady. In her lifetime, Althea had seen many beautiful women attempt to flirt with her father, but he would barely bat an eyelid. What had made Katie so different?<p>

Seeing her own daughter all grown up was enough to send Katie into a whirlwind of differing emotions she could barely cope with. Pride was one of the many things that Katie was feeling. Althea sure looked like a mixture of Travis and herself, something that Katie couldn't help but feel slightly content with. Her daughter was a tall young girl, about 5'8 and her slender arms and petite waist reminding Katie of her own teenage years. The sun-kissed skin that Althea had developed could have only come from many years gardening, a hobby that Katie had always wished she could have taught her baby girl.

Yet there were so many things about Althea that reminded Katie of Travis. The soft, dark curled tendrils that hung down to her mid-waist, framing her face and the mischievous glint that was etched in her eyes were the most prominent.

"Hi there Althea," Katie decided to be the first to break the silence that was eating the three of them up inwardly. Althea said nothing for a moment, but sub-consciously moved closer to her father, although her hand had left the back pocket of her jeans.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked finally, looking up at her dad. All the thoughts of her mother had given Althea a headache and she could barely register what was going on. It was as if she was in a dream, but she knew that it was reality.

"Just having a talk Al," Travis reassured his daughter with a smile. She said nothing for a moment.

"Talking about?" she demanded to know. Althea had spent so many years dreaming of this exact moment, where she would meet her mom. It had gone so differently in her mind. She had envisioned a magical moment where their eyes would meet and Althea instantly knew that she loved her and would run up and give her a massive hug. Katie would've apologized for ever leaving and wanted to let Althea know that she was going to be with her for the rest of her life.

Sadly, reality had taken a much different turn. Here she was, wanting to be anywhere but at Zeus' Fist. Althea felt nothing towards her mother, except hurt and a pinch of anger. But she couldn't help it.

"About you," Katie was the one who answered her question. "You've certainly grown," she commented with a little smile at an attempt to make Althea do the same. Her intention had clearly fallen short when Althea's lips formed a tight line.

"Well that's what tends to happen in fifteen years," She couldn't help but snap. Althea hated being mean to people, she thought that it was something reserved for the snotty Aphrodite girls, but with Katie, she just couldn't help it. The anger and bitterness that she had felt over Katie leaving her was starting to rise up like bile in her throat.

"Althea," Travis hissed, putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. Althea was generally a calm and collected person, but when she got angry it made Clarisse look like a Barbie doll. Travis' daughter had only ever fully raged about three times in her entire life and there were not pleasant outcomes for those involved. He was hoping that this event was not going to make it a fourth time.

"Sorry," she mumbled, sounding like she barely meant it. If Katie had heard the exchange between father and daughter, she didn't acknowledge it outwardly.

"Look, I know that I've made a few mistakes, but I want to get to know you more Althea. I want you to stay with Jake and I for a while," Katie stated in a rather plain tone, as if they were merely discussing the weather.

Both Althea and Travis were equally shell-shocked with what Katie had said. Both of them could barely think of what to say. Althea wondered who Jake was, and what he had to do with Katie. She didn't think that it was the best place to ask though.

After a few seconds, Althea had opened her mouth to speak but her father had squeezed her shoulder lightly, glancing down at her. She looked up and noted the 'Let me handle this' look on his face. Althea sighed inwardly, but nodded, allowing her father to speak.

"I don't think that's the smartest idea," Travis said slowly, trying to figure out the right words to say. He hated seeing an angry Althea, but he could barely stand seeing an angry Katie. Not only was it one of the most terrifying experiences of the elder Stoll's life, but he knew that he would feel guilty. And Travis hated feeling guilty.

"Why not? I want a chance Travis," Katie replied. The words she uttered reached Travis' ears and he had to let out a bitter laugh. Suddenly, something had built up inside of him and he scoffed.

"You've had your chances Katie!" he exploded finally. He'd had enough. Part of him couldn't believe he had held on to her for all these years. It was such a waste of time. Loving her for the fifteen years she could care less about him or Althea was so pointless that Travis got angry with himself. He had done nothing but love her for the past twenty years, hoping that she would walk through the door of their house or maybe even attempt to try to contact him, but he got nothing.

Travis was tired of waiting. He was sick of trying to constantly make excuses for Katie. He had waited long enough and he didn't want to wait any longer.

"It has been fifteen years. I have waited for you for that long. I have waited for you to call, Iris Message or do something to contact me! But I got nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have spent so many years hiding the reason you left from Althea, because I didn't want her to get hurt. You left Katie, and you didn't bother to look back. It's too late," he stated in a surprisingly calm tone. He felt Althea stiffen underneath his hand and glanced at her. There were tears forming in her eyes although she was evident that she didn't want to cry. Katie on the other hand, looked gob-smacked. Her mouth hung open slightly and her usually perfect posture had turned into a disappointed slouch.

"Travi-" She tried to cut in, but the elder Stoll was having none of that.

"No Katie. I don't want your excuses, your apologies. You had fifteen years to do that. Althea is my daughter and I'm deciding what is best for her… and you aren't it."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So there it is. The healing of Travis Stoll. I really liked the Travis I created. So thoughts? A sequel? Enough? More Travis and Katie (Maybe on a happier note?) Althea? Let me know!


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